Lycan Warrior: Werewolf Hunter
by John Storm
Summary: For thousands of years Lycan have hunted Werewolves to prptect humans, but with little results. Marcus, one of the best, disovers a Werewolf plot to bring destroy the Lycans, leaving humanity defenseless. Can Marcus and his mate Katrina defeaf them? Original work by me please R&R
1. Prologue

Prologue

Jamie ran naked and terrified through the cold, Colorado mountain forest, trying desperately to keep up with the other five running ahead of him. The others were much faster than he was and didn't seem concerned about leaving him behind. They were too busy laughing amongst themselves, arguing over who got the most kills, to pay attention to him.

"Hey guys, please wait up." Jamie shouted through the trees, barely able to see his so - called friends in the distance.

"Keep up New Blood, learn to use your Wolf stamina." The oldest member of the gang Dalton called back.

A low growl escaped Jamie's throat, he hated being called New Blood. He figured that after his first transformation during a full moon the others would finally give him respect, instead they seem to be treating him just the same, worse as far as gang's biggest members Shawn was concerned.

Derek, the friendliest guy in the gang, stopped and raised his hand to the others. "Come on guys, slow down, Jamie still hasn't gotten used to being one of us yet. He hasn't adjusted to his strength yet."

Aaron, the gang leader, slid to a halt, making the rest of the gang stop. "Derek's right guys, we're a pack, we don't leave each other behind."

The others, especially Shawn, groaned and protested as they stopped in a small clearing, waiting for Jamie to catch up. All are naked and out of breath, the transformations always took a lot out of them, particularly the change back to human. None of them say a word, besides a bunch of groaning, as Jamie ran into the clearing and nearly collapsed in front of them, gasping for breath.

"Thanks for . . . waiting guys." Jamie panted as he rose to his knees.

Derek patted Jamie on the back. "Take your time Jamie, the first transformation is always the hardest and most intense. The pain will go away eventually."

"Oh please Derek, can you not coddle the New Blood, you'll make him weak." Brian, the gang's tattoo artist, shouted.

"Shut up Brian, you were worse during your first transformation."

Jamie's panting droned out the arguing of the other gang members; his only thoughts were on how he got himself mixed in with the mad group of monsters surrounding him. He regretted heading alone into the forest that day nearly a month ago. That day, he ran into the forest to escape his abusive father, having finally had enough of the beatings. Jamie ran until he came to a building he thought was abandoned, till he went inside and found the gang inside, drinking and partying. At first, Jamie thought they were just squatters, but was jealous of the tight bond they had. They invited Jamie to become one of them, if he had known what it entailed he would've said no. Next thing Jamie knew, Aaron was biting his neck, spreading a dark power into his body. It wasn't till Jamie woke up a day later that Dalton explained what had really happened; he had become a Werewolf, and was part of their pack.

"To bad the ranchers had such a small gathering, I was expecting at least double what there was." Aaron said as he paced back and forth in front of the gang.

"Me too, at least they had cattle nearby rip for the slaughter," Dalton replied, cracking his knuckles, "Had to work out my aggression, a month's a long time to go build up frustration."

"But it feels SO good to let out that built up animal rage and instinct after so long," Derek added, "It makes the kill so much sweeter."

"Amen to that Derek," Shawn cheered, "What do you say Jamie, you savor the kill?"

Jamie looked down at the ground, unsure how to answer such a dark question. After watching the gang attack a rancher's home, murder his family and livestock, and laugh about it, Jamie was traumatized beyond what he thought possible. The gang used the rancher's family reunion as a way to quench their blood lust and initiate Jamie as one of their own. Jamie couldn't bring himself to end a human's life, while the others did so while laughing. To avoird around suspicion, Jamie slaughtered a few of the ranchers' cattle. Brian saw it as weakness while the others could care less, they saw it as a step in the right direction. The experience scared Jamie, making him believe that if he kept it up he'd become just like them, a murderous psychopath with a predator drive that'll ruin his mind. Jamie wanted desperately to run before the same animal instincts took over his mind and made him just like them, but he knew they'd hunt him down and kill him before he got away. He thought his best option at the moment was to wait for the right moment to get away, but that would involved playing the role of a psychotic murder till the opportunity arose.

"Oh yes, I did, the kill quenched my hunger for blood." Jamie shouted, giving the best answer he could that he thought would satisfy the gang and ease their suspicion of him.

"I don't buy it Jamie," Shawn said, getting the attention of the others, "All you did was slay a couple cattle."

"Oh please Shawn, it's his first transformation, and he just became a Werewolf. Give him time, he'll become one of us eventually." Aaron said.

"Thanks Aaron, can we please get back home now, this cold is killing me." Jamie replied, hugging his naked body.

"Of course, it's just up ahead, I think we'd all like to get out of the cold."

The others nodded in agreement, none of them wanted to be outside naked in the Rocky Mountain cold. Jamie was glad the others held back, allowing him to keep up with them. In a few minutes, the gang made it back to their home, little more than a large, abandoned barn. As soon as they arrived, the gang set about getting dressed again quickly, ready to relax after a long murder spree. Despite being tired, Jamie knew he wouldn't sleep, not with the images of his gang slaughtering innocent people fresh on his mind.

"Hold on guys," Aaron said, raising his hand and sniffing the air, "I smell an intruder."

Derek sniffed the air. "Yes, whoever it is they're not human."

Dalton nodded in agreement. "Who or what it is, smells like one of us."

"Another Werewolf." Shawn asked.

"I don't think so, the smell is very similar to ours but there's something different about it, I can't tell what it is." Dalton replied.

Jamie sniffed the air with the others, at first smelling nothing, then the smell hit his nostrils out of nowhere. Dalton was right, it certainly smelled like Werewolf, but there was indeed something different to it. The scent was powerful, more so than any Werewolf Jamie's sensed before. It didn't stink like other Werewolves,more refined. Jamie didn't know what to think, only fear clouded his mind. Watching the rest of the gang wonder around unsure and cautious wasn't helping.

"I was wondering when you mutts would get back." A deep voiced called out to them from the darkness, the suddenness and authorarive power behind it sent shivers down Jamie's spine.

Sitting at a table in the rec room, drinking a cup of coffee, was a lone figure, Despite the darkness, Jamie could make out small details about the man. He could see that the man was wearing an old, back, leather motorcycle jacket with no gang symbols on it, a dark, brown short-sleeve shirt under the jacket, black, motorcycle gloves, black cargo pants, and very old Marine combat boots. A black cowboy-like hat rest on his long, snow - colored hair that was tied in a pony tail. Jamie could barely make out the man's face in the darkness, but, from what he could see the man appeared to be in his mid to late thirties with a thick, white beard covering his face. A long, curved scare covered his left cheek, below his eyes, which were bright green. As Jamie squinted in the dark, he could see that the man's eyes were slitted, just like their's, but unlike them, who all had bright red, his eyes were almost glowing green. Looking closer, Jamie could make out a revolver under the man's jacket on his left side, he didn't appear to be even trying to hide it. Beside the revolver was a small, double - sided axe hanging loosely from his belt, making it easy for him to pull out if he needed to. The front of the axe blade was shaped in a half moon and large enough to cleave a person's arm off. The back was long and pointed like spear tip, possibly to penetrates skulls and armor. On the man's left side was a long sword, resting in a similar sheath and wolf design on the hilt. From what Jamie could see the sword appeared to be straight, possibly double - sided, and around a yard long. Right beside the sword was a long, curved dagger in a elegant sheath that was covered in etchings of wolves. The hilt of the dagger was in the shape of a wolf's head with emeralds as eyes.

Aaron growled loudly as he approached the strange man. "Well, well, well, look what we got here boys, a future chew toy."

"Hm, like I haven't heard that one before," The strange man said, taking a sip of his coffee, "Clearly you guys don't know who I am. If you did, well, you'd be running."

Aaron laughed loudly, echoing throughout the building. "Really, what can one man do against us? You can't hurt us."

The strange man sighed as he set down his coffee cup. "If I had a dollar for every time a Werewolf told me that I'd be millionaire by now."

"You know what we are?" Derek shouted.

"It doesn't matter that he knows what we are," Dalton growled, "what matters is his stupidity is what got him killed."

"Yeah, only a fool goes hunting werewolves." Shawn added, almost roaringat the strange man.

Aaron held up his hands to silence the others. "Guys, as much as I'd like to devour this moron I think we should at least know the poor sap's name."

"Huh, honor amongst werewolves, I guess there's a first time for everything," The strange man laughed, "My name is Marcus, you may know me as the White Wolf of the Black Forest."

"Can't say we've heard of you," Aaron replied, looking at the others, picking up a sharp, broken piece of metal and waving it around like a knife. "It doesn't matter anyway mister White Wolf, we'll cut you down before you can get up from your chair. Your weapons won't save you; nothing can save you from us. Like everyone else, you will fall to our . . ."

Suddenly, the back of Aaron's head exploded, spraying blood and brains all over the wall and the gang. Jamie, blood and brains covering his face, could see the wall through the back of Aaron's head. The piece Aaron was waving around dropped from his hand and clanged loudly when it hits the ground. Aaron collapsed like a sack of potatoes before the gang and Jamie, dead before he hit the ground. Jamie, shocked by Aaron's sudden death, could barely raise his head towards Marcus to see his revolver drawn and the barrel smoking. Marcus had drawn his revolver and fired so fast that Jamie and the others didn't even see it. The shock of seeing their leader killed so suddenly froze them, making them easy targets for Marcus, who only sat there emotionless.

"Why do they always go on an annoying rant?" Marcus sighed as he holstered his revolver. "Just so you know, the answer is silver, that's what the bullets are made out and the edges of my weapons. But, I don't need the revolver for this."

Marcus stood up and did something that shocked the gang almost as much as watching Aaron's suddenly death. Jamie let out a soft gasp when Marcus stood up, seeing how tall he was. He was taller than Shawn, at least 6'6", and, despite wearing a motorcycle jacket, appeared to be nothing but muscle. To Jamie, Marcus looked even scarier standing up, like a real warrior. In a defiant act, Marcus laid his revolver on the table and walked away from it. Marcus walked toward the gang with such confidence that, despite laying down his best weapon against them, Jamie and Derek backed away. Jamie couldn't believe what he was seeing; somehow the strange man, knowing he was surrounded by werewolves, found the confidence, or just arrogance, to stand and fight in what appeared to be a no - win situation for him. Either Marcus was an egomaniac or his skills were up to par with his confidence.

"So, are you just going to stand there and be slaughtered, or are you going to fight back?" Marcus shouted.

Dalton roared in anger, the sound of it echoing throughout the steel walls, grabbed a nearby piece of broken rebar as a weapon, and rushed Marcus. He lowered the rebar, aiming for the center of Marcus' chest. Before the sharp end of the rebar could reach him, Marcus twisted his body, reaching across with his right hand and pushing the rebar to the side, making it miss his body. As he pushed the rebar aside, Marcus reached for his dagger with the same hand and drew it with blinding speed. Dalton was unable to stop, leaving himself defenseless, as Marcus brought his dagger up and the tip, with expert precision, sliced his jugular. Blood sprayed from Dalton's neck as he collapsed to the ground, his hands frantically covering the cut to stop the bleeding, though everyone knew it was pointless. In the blink of an eye, Marcus had ended another Werewolf's life, scaring the others except for Derek.

"YOU MONSTER," Derek shouted.

"Look who's talking," Marcus snapped back.

Derek rushed towards Marcus in a blind rage. Marcus, seeing Derek rush him from behind, ducked at the instance, avoiding Derek's wild swing at his head. Taking advantage of his low position, Marcus swung his dagger into Derek's knee. Derek screamed in agony as he collapsed, making him easy prey. Marcus rose up and buried his dagger into Derek's temple. The dagger went so deep that the tip protruded through the other side of Derek's head. Marcus pulled the dagger out of Derek's head, who collapsed in a heap besides Dalton.

"This . . . this is impossible," Jamie stuttered, frozen in place.

Brian stepped forward, growling at Marcus. "Why don't you put down that dagger and fight fairly?"

Jamie looked at Brian, stunned if that he would say something so demanding to the man that just killed three of their gang members as it was nothing. Suddenly, in a flash of silver, Marcus' dagger hit Brian in the center of his chest. It was so sudden that Jamie didn't even realize what happened. It wasn't till Brian fell backwards on the ground in a thud that Jamie realized Marcus had thrown his dagger into his chest.

"You asked me to put it down," Marcus said, then turned towards Shawn, completely ignoring Jamie, "Are you just going to fight or are you just going to stand there like a coward?"

Shawn stared at Marcus, unsure what to do. Marcus, appearing to be getting bored, drew his sword and axe and does the unthinkable. He dropped the sword, the tip burying itself deep into the concrete floor, and tossed the axe to Shawn who caught it.

"The blade of that axe is coated in silver, not even I can heal from that."

"So you are a Werewolf?" Dalton asked.

Marcus shook his head. "You're close but no, I'm a Lycan."

"Ok, that didn't really answer my question." Dalton looked at the axe very confused. "Why would you give your enemy your own weapon that could kill you?"

"Because, I'm bored and while this doesn't come even close to evening the fight it's at least interesting to me."

"We'll see about that."

Shawn let out a bloodthirsty scream and rushed at Marcus. He raised the axe over his head, aiming for Marcus's head. When Shawn was close enough he swung the axe down at Marcus' as fast and hard as he could, expecting to split his skull open. Marcus stepped to the side, avoiding the blow with ease. Shawn had overextended his swing, putting himself off balance and out of control. Marcus, moving so fast that Jamie's eyes could barely keep up, stepped behind Shawn and wrapped his arms around his head. Jamie heard a loud snap, making him guess that it was the sound of Marcus breaking Shawn's neck. He could only watch as Shawn collapsed lifelessly to the ground, Marcus grabbing his axe before he hit the ground.

Jamie jumped back as Marcus turned towards him, staring him down. He didn't know what scared him more; seeing Marcus kill his fellow gang members so easily or the fact that the same man was currently staring him down. Marcus slowly approached Jamie, placing his axe back in its place and pulling his sword out of the concrete.

Jamie took a deep breath and readied himself for the inevitable. "If you're going to kill me just do it. I deserve it for going along with these monsters. Kill me before I become like them."

Marcus sheathed his sword and placed a strong hand on Jamie's shoulder. "No, I'm not going to kill someone who just turned and has showed no sign of blood lust."

"Blood lust, what do you mean?"

"Surely you noticed it among your gang, how they acted and killed, as if to fill some kind of void?"

Jamie looked down at the ground, afraid to answer, that Marcus will break his neck at any moment. "I thought that they were just messed up for a while, but it did eventually dawn on me that there was something else."

"That's the blood lust, the reason why I hunt your kind. It's caused too many incidents like the ranch throughout the last couple millennia. It drives almost all Werewolves to madness, killing anyone or anything to satisfy it."

Jamie sighed as he looked up at Marcus. He couldn't believe that the same man that slaughtered his gang with ease was currently talking to him like a father to his son, it made no sense to him. As much as Jamie wanted to relax his fear wouldn't let him, though he knew there was nothing he could do to stop Marcus. All Jamie could do was listen and try to understand.

"So, you're saying that I could become like them?"

Marcus nodded, "Or worse, some become so mad with a blood lust that their minds are more animal than man."

"Then, why are you sparing me? Why not just kill me and spare me the fate of becoming like them?"

"Because you're not an animal, not yet. I could see it from the moment you walked into the building. You were mortified by what you saw. It scares you that you may become like them, doesn't it?"

Jamie reluctantly nodded. "What they did to that ranch family scared me just a little more than watching you slaughter my so - called friends, I can't say I feel sorry for them. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that you killed them so easily, and haven't killed me yet. How do you know I'm not like them?"

"Because I've been hunting Werewolves for much longer than you realize. I know how to tell if one has given into the bloodlust or not. I can sense that it hasn't developed in you yet, otherwise, you'd be dead right now."

Jamie gulped loudly, taking a step back from Marcus. His fear of Marcus was going up and down frantically every time Marcus spoke. He still felt that at any moment Marcus was going to snap his neck. But, despite his fear, Jamie couldn't help but feel drawn to Marcus, he wanted help before the so - called bloodlust made him like the gang.

"Ok Marcus, as much as I want to turn and run, I want to know, is there a way to prevent the bloodlust from happening to me?"

"Yes, there is, but it's not easy. Werewolves that overcome the bloodlust are an extreme rarity. Fortunately for you, I caught it after your first transformation, so you have a chance."

"Is it the same way you overcame it?" Jamie asked.

"I've never had the bloodlust."

"I thought you were a Werewolf?"

Marcus glared daggers at Jamie, a slight growl escaping his throat, making Jamie wet his pants a little. "I'm a Lycan, not a Werewolf, there's a big difference between the two, as you're about to find out."

"Sorry, I didn't know."

Marcus shook his head in frustration. "Let's just move on. I have to ask, are you for certain you want my help?"

Jamie lowered his head, pondering if he really wanted Marcus' help. Receiving Marcus' help would mean not only trusting a big, scary man he just met., but also the man he just watched mercilessly slaughter the gang. Trusting Marcus seemed like a major stretch, for all Jamie knew, Marcus could've been setting him up. But, despite all that, Jamie couldn't help but feel drawn to Marcus, that he really wanted to help. Jamie didn't know if it was Marcus' power, his confidence, or something else, he felt like he should trust him; at least see what Marcus had to teach him.

 _What do I got to lose anyway? I got nothing left, no friends or family, might as well trust him._

Jamie smiled slightly as he looked up at Marcus. "Yes, I'm certain, I want to prevent the bloodlust from turning me into them."

"Good, it won't be easy, that I can assure you," Marcus reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a note. "Be at this location in two weeks from today."

"What, you're just leaving me?"

"For now, I got other business to take of first. You're better off not knowing what it is."

"But, how am I supposed to get to Arkansas in two weeks with no money?" Jamie shouted.

Marcus smirked as he turned around, reached into his pocket to pull out an envelope, and tossed it to Jamie. "That should help you get there. Take care, young one."

Jamie opened the envelope and gasped when he saw a wad of hundred dollar bills inside. His hands shook as he tried to count the money. Jamie looked up to thank Marcus only to find himself alone. Looking around and sniffing the air, Marcus was nowhere to be found. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

 _What in the world have I gotten myself into?_


	2. Lycan Lover’s Reunited

Chapter 1: Lover's Reunited

AH, Aspen, Colorado, such a beautiful city.

Marcus smiled underneath his motorcycle helmet as the outskirts of Aspen, Colorado came into view. Though it was still dark out, he could still be in awe of the city, mostly he was tired from hunting the small Werewolf pack and needed some sleep. Everything looked peaceful as he drove toward the city, something that he'd rarely experienced in his LONG life. Normally, Marcus would slow down to take in the beauty of the scenery, but he was in a slight hurry.

Marcus twisted back on the throttle, increasing his speed to Aspen; there was one appointment he had that day he didn't want to miss. He hardly felt the cold wind through his thick coat, even without it the cold didn't bother him; one of the many benefits of being a Lycan. Though he was in a bit of a hurry he restricted his speed a little in case of police patrols. The last thing Marcus wanted was to get pulled over and be late for his meeting. Marcus has arrived late to a date with the person before and the result of it still haunted him, despite it being over a hundred and fifty years ago.

As Marcus accelerated towards Aspen his thoughts drifted back to the events earlier that night. Before he had become a Lycan he had developed a habit of mentally replaying the previous fight in his mind, move for move, allowing him to see mistakes he made and areas for improvement. While keeping his eyes on the road, replayed the night's fight in his mind, spotting very few minor errors but one big error. He realized his brutality towards the Werewolves, particularly the part where he blew the gang leader's brains out, scared the kid named Jamie. The more he concentrated on that part of the fight the more he realized how horrified Jamie must've been, as if watching the gang rip an innocent randh family to pieces wasn't enough.

Maybe I should've dialed my actions back a little, might have scared that Jamie kid too much. Marcus thought, sighing under his helmet. I hope I didn't scare the kid too much. The last thing I want is to scare the kid away and him become corrupted by the bloodlust. That would mean I'd have to hunt him down and kill him. Hopefully it won't come that.

By the time Marcus made it to the outskirts of the city the sun was starting to peek over the mountains. There was little traffic at that time, allowing him to maneuver his motorcycle quickly through the streets with ease. It didn't take long for him to find the restaurant/hotel he was looking for; the Country Inn. There were hardly any cars in the parking lot with it being so early in the day. A quick look around the parking lot allowed him to see that the person he was supposed to met wasn't there yet.

Marcus sighed in relief as he drove around the parking lot. I guess this means for once she won't be angry with me for being late. Too bad I'll still probably get slapped for some reason, never know with that woman.

Marcus drove into the restaurant parking lot, a hotel a short walk away, and parked his motorcycle near the entrance. He turned off the motorcycle, dropped the kickstand, and pulled the inition and fingerprint scanner out. The motorcycle had quite a few modifications that Marcus spent a lot of time on, making sure someone didn't steal it made sense; hence the fingerprint scanner. No one was stealing it with ease, and if they did the tracking chip would make it easy for Marcus to hunt them down like animals. He hooked his helmet to his cycle and pulled out his hat; making sure everything was locked up before he left. Some of the other Lycans thought he was too cautious, but his experience said otherwise. His sword was in the motorcycle's large storage compartment that Marcus had modified. Carrying a sword into a public place didn't seem like a good idea. Marcus still had his revolver and dagger on him, but his jacket was tucked around him in a way so that they weren't visible.

As Marcus headed inside he heard the roaring of motorcycles approaching. Marcus turned his head up the highway to see a group of motorcycles approaching. From what Marcus could tell, they were a street gang. Somehow, the guys riding the motorcycles were louder than their rides. They drove into the gas staton across the street from the restaurant, laughing at each other and insulting anyone near them. Marcus found their behavior despicable to say the least. A quick sniff and Marcus could tell they weren't Werewolve; surprising, Werewolf packs usually act like arrogant jerks in public just like the gang pulling into the gas station. But, Marcus could smell something else that told him they were up to no good. Marcus didn't need his sense of smell to tell him that, his experience told him to be cautious. Thankfully, for the time being, they were just being rowdy, though Marcus knew that could change quickly.

Idiots, ruining everyone else's morning, especially mine.

Marcus didn't take his eyes off the motorcycle gang as he entered the restaurant. As much as he would enjoy knocking the motorcycle gang down a peg or two there were other matters that demanded his attention. The gang would only be his concern if they messed with his motorcycle, or did something that involved him, which wasn't likely.

Marcus sat down at a booth in the back corner of the restaurant, his back against the wall, and the front door in his view. It was an old habit that served him well through his long life, especially when he was in Dodge City in the 1870s. His eyes instinctly surveyed the reaturant, figuring out plans of attack, defense and escape. To Marcus, doing so was an natural as breathing; after doing it for so long he no longer had to think about it, his instincts took over LONG ago.

After a minute, the waiter finally approached Marcus. "Excuse me, Sir, is there anyone else joining you?"

"Yes, a woman will be joining me soon, hopefully in a minute or two."

"Okay sir, can I take your drink or do you want to wait to order?"

"No, Im ready to order, I know what she wants as well." Marcus answered, surprising the server. "I'll have a sweet tea and she'll want peach tea. To eat, I'll take the Reuben, with fries please. She'll have the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and brown gravy."

"No problem sir, I'll have your drinks out soon, your food will be a while."

Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "That's fine, I got nothing but time."

The server nodded and walked away, leaving Marcus alone. In his mind, he was hoping the cooks were good enough to please the woman he was waiting for. He wasn't worried that he ordered the wrong thing for her, he knew exactly what she liked to eat, having known her for so long. The problem was if her meal was cooked poorly, well, she had a habit of getting a little upset. Most likely, she would take that frustration out on Marcus, something he desperately wanted to avoid. Marcus didn't relax when the server brought the drinks. To be safe, Marcus took a sip out of both drinks.

At least they got her drink right, one less thing I got to worry about.

Marcus suddenly noticed one of the gang members enter the restaurant alone, looking suspiciously nervous. It didn't take much for him to realize that he was up to no good. By the look on his face and the nervous/excited scent of the man, he knew he was about to attempt something foolish, most likely a robbery. Despite his natural instincts telling him to draw his revolver and blow the robber's brains out he restrained himself. Even though he had a carry license valid in every state and an incredibly realistic FBI badge, realistic enough to fool anyone who looked at it, he knew that gunning the would - be robber down before he attempted anything wouldn't result well with the local law enforcement. To avoid suspicion, and waste of time, Marcus knew it'd be best to have witnesses to say he reacted appropriately.

The robber walked casually as possible around the restaurant, appearing to survey his best possible method to rob the place. No one was paying attention to him but Marcus, who kept him in the corner of his eye so the robbed wouldn't notice. From the nervous look in the robber's face, Marcus could tell it was his first to robbery. Knowing how gangs like his operated, Marcus guessed that the gang was using the robbery as his initiation. Marcus watched the robber, taking occasional sips of his tea, as the robber walked in his general direction. The robber stopped a short distance away from he booth and turned around, his back slightly towards Marcus. Marcus could make out the robber casually reaching into his coat pocket, for his weapon.

Surely this moron isn't that stupid. Robbing a restaurant with your back turned towards someone. This guy must be high on something or one of the world's biggest idiots.

Right before Marcus' eyes, the robber drawed a pistol and pointed it the nearest server. "THIS IS A ROBBERY, HAND OVER YOUR MONEY AND VALUABLES AND NO ONE GETS HURT."

Marcus, seeing the opportunity he'd been waiting for, responded quickly, before anyone in the restaurant realized what was happening. He lunged at the robber from behind and grabbed his gun hand by the wrist, pressing down on the weak spots with half his incredible strength. The robber's wrist snapped like a twig, causing him to let go of his gun and scream in pain. Marcus took advantage of the robber's pain and rushed behind him, wrapping his arms around his neck, putting him in a headlock. The robber tried to scream but Marcus squeezed his neck gentle, too much and he could've easily severed his spine killing him, instead putting him to sleep. Marcus held onto the robber, keeping him hitting the ground.

"It's okay everyone, I'm FBI, the situation is handled." Marcus shouted, despite it being a lie, to calm everyone down and ease suspicion.

The robber squirmed under Marcus' grip, but to no avail; he was just too strong for the thief to break free. Without saying a word to anyone, Marcus dragged the robber through the restaurant quickly to avoid people asking questions. Even though the robber fought him every step he had no problem getting him outside; thankfully none of the customers stopped him. Once Marcus had the robber outside he threw him across the street towards his gang with ease. The gang ran to him, asking him what happened. Even from that distance Marcus could see they were furious, which became clear when they started running at him.

Oh great, last thing I wanted to do today, get into a public fight with humans.

Marcus sighed to himself as he reached under his jacket for his revolver. As much as he was annoyed by the current situation he didn't want to kill any humans that day, it was something he tried to avoid at all costs. Though with a biker gang coming towards him, it's not like he had a lot of options.

Seeing little other options, Marcus drew his revolver and pointed it at them as a warning. "Back off, take your friend and go, unless you want the FBI on your tail."

The gang stopped in their tracks upon seeing Marcus' revolver pointed at them. They looked at each other for a moment before they started laughing. He had a feeling they would; gangs like theirs had no respect for authority, and they outnumbered him ten to one. The odds would be bad for him if he wasn't a Lycan, but he didn't want that getting out.

Suddenly, Marcus heard another pistol being chambered from behind the bikers, followed by a strong, feminine voice shout, "That's enough horseplay, boys, go home before someone gets hurt."

Marcus looked behind the bikers to see the woman who spoke pointing what looked like a Desert Eagle at them. His heart rate increased drastically seeing her, as it always did. The woman was around his age, by her looks, almost as tall and muscular he was, and very shapely in the right areas. Her long, white hair that was tied in a ponytail flew in the direction of the wind. Marcus could see her green eyes glowing behind the aviator sunglasses she was wearing. The black tank top she was wearing under her black motorcycle jacket clung tightly to her dark skin, showing off the right amount of cleavage to get his attention. Her black pants hugged her legs and rear loosely, allowing easy movement. To him, the woman was the epitome of beauty, making it difficult for him to focus on the bikers.

"Katrina, it's good to see you again." Marcus shouted, keeping his revolver pointed at the bikers.

"In a minute, Marcus; lets deal with this morons first, then we can talk." Katrina shouted back. "Now boys, we can end this without a bloodbath, all you have to do is pick up your friend and walk away."

The bikers looked at each other, appearing to question the situation. They seemed to realize that even with their numbers they'd be gunned down quickly against Marcus and Katrina. After a moment, the bikers slowly raised their hands and walked away, picking up their injured friend along the way. Marcus and Katrina didn't holster their weapons till the bikers were gone.

"Thanks for backing me up, Katrina, I didn't think I'd ever be happier to see you than I am now." Marcus said as he holstered his revolver.

Marcus turned around and nearly jumped back when he saw Katrina standing right in front of him, glaring angrily at him. The glare he received from the beautiful female lycan would've made a thousand year old red oak tree wither and die had one been nearby. Receiving such a glare sent shivers down Marcus's spine. He knew Katrina was furious at him, and he deserved it.

"Uh, are you mad at me for being stupid with the bikers or not seeing you for a year?" Marcus asked after being starred down for what felt like forever.

"Both, though not taking the time to be with me for for nearly a year is the bigger reason. Seriously, Marcus, a year and we haven't seen each other?"

"We've gone longer; remember the first crusade, we were separated for nearly ten years."

"That was different; we were too busy fighting to be together. What is your excuse this time?" Katrina growled, crossing her arms under her ample chest in anger.

"A lot of leads on Werewolf hideouts and raids. You know I've been tracking a large pack across the Rockies. I didn't finish exterminating their pack till last week. I'm sorry that I didn't invite you; I know how much you love hunting."

"Oh, I'll make sure you pay for that mistake." Katrina said with a dark smile. "But we can talk about that later; right now I'm hungry. Did you get us a table?"

"Yes, and I already ordered for the both of us. Hopefully they cooked your chicken fried steak just right."

"You'd better hope so, or you'll never hear the end of it."

Katrina turned around and walked into the restaurant, swaying her hips back and forth in front of Marcus. Despite having seen what Katrina called her seductive walk many times over the last two thousand years it still worked at getting his attention. Katrina knew how to drive Marcus crazy, it worked every time. He followed her inside where he led her to their table. They sat down and a moment later their food arrived. Katrina dug into her food immediately; from her expression she loved how it tasted. Marcus knew he'd have to wait till Katrina was finished before they could talk. Thankfully, Katrina had manners, so she wouldn't draw attention. Occasionally, Katrina would ask Marcus a question about how things were going for him, but other than that she didn't speak much.

"So, Marcus, why did you finally decide to see me after so long? Is there a Werewolf den you need my help in wiping out?" Katrina asked once she was finished.

"Well, that's one of the reasons that I asked you to come here, but it's not the main one. After we've been apart for so long I figured we needed time together."

"Ah, so you called me to Aspen to fraternize with me? That's very unlike you, Marcus. Usually, I'm the one that has to instigate our . . . activities."

"Yeah, by pouncing on me, literally." Marcus said, fighting back a laugh. "I figured that today I'd try to make things romantic."

"Hm, now you got my attention. But you said something about a pack nearby; shouldn't we be concerned about them?"

"Normally, yes. David hunted them down and asked for my help eliminating them."

Katrina rolled her eyes. "Oh great, you know how much I dislike David, he's a killjoy, a stickler for procedure. Don't get me started on his lack of respect for those above him."

"I know, but he won't be here till midnight." Marcus reached across the table and gently grasped Katrina's hands. "So, that gives us plenty of time."

Marcus watched as Katrina blushed slightly, she hid it well but not well enough from him. Even after all the time they'd known each other, Marcus could still make Katrina blush. For such a strong woman, she was cute when she blushed.

"Did you rent us a room?" Katrina asked.

"A suite, with a kitchen, living room, and a king size bed, perfect for us. We got it for three days."

"Mm, three days may not be enough. We'd better get started if you're going to make up for all the time we've been apart."

"Alright, just let me pay the check, then . . ."

Marcus didn't have time to finish his sentence before Katrina lunged in and kissed him on the lips. She kissed him deeply, in front of everyone, not caring that everyone could see them. Though the kiss lasted only a couple seconds it was enough for Katrina to put Marcus under her spell. When they separated, Katrina stood up and waved her finger for Marcus to follow her.

Dang, that woman is a master manipulator, but I wouldn't trade her for anything. I'll love her till the end of time.

Marcus stood up and laid fifty dollars on the table, more than enough to cover their meal. He almost ran to Katrina and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Katrina smiled slightly, making her tough to read for just about any male, but not for Marcus.

As soon as they were outside the restaurant Marcus sprung into action. He knelt down and swung his right arm underneath Katrina's legs and lifted her off the ground. Using his left arm as support on her back, Marcus picked up Katrina effortlessly; she didn't fight back at all carrying her bridal style. Not caring who saw them, Marcus carried Katrina to their hotel room in his arms as she blushed wildly.

"Marcus, where is this coming from? You're rarely this spontaneous?"

"What can I say; I'm feeling being very romantic today. Nothing wrong with a man carrying the woman he loves."

X

Katrina woke up to the smell of bacon and sausage sizzling in the kitchen; the scent made it near impossible for her to stay in bed. Despite wanting to jump out of bed and run to the kitchen for some of her lover's food Katrina decided to stay in bed; Marcus would eventually be ready anyway. The wait was excruciating with Katrina getting hungrier every second, as if she wasn't already hungry from using so much energy on Marcus earlier. Katrina was always starving after she and Marcus had "fun" time together; last morning, afternoon, and evening were no exception.

After a few minutes Katrina couldn't wait any longer. She got out of bed, wearing a tight, white undershirt and pajama shorts, and walked out of the bedroom into the kitchen. Marcus was standing over the stove putting the finishing touches on the eggs. He was just wearing pants, revealing his muscular upper body that was covered in scars.

"Good morning, beautiful." Marcus said, turning his head to Katrina.

"Good morning to you too, handsome. I had to get up; the smell of your delicious cooking was keeping me from sleeping."

"I figured it was, don't worry, it'll be ready soon."

"Good, after all the fun we had I'm starving." Katrina replied, her stomach growling.

"Well, you'll be more than satisfied with this meal, I made it for today's special occasion."

Katrina's eyes popped open, realizing she forgot something important, but she remained calm, "Oh, is it your birthday, sorry I forgot."

Marcus laughed quietly as he finished cooking and set the food on their plates. He carried it over to the table and laid a plate in front of Katrina and on the spot beside her. Marcus then bent over Katrina's shoulder from behind and gently kissed her cheek.

"Happy two thousandth anniversary, hun."

Katrina gasped loudly as Marcus' words hit her like a ton of bricks. How could she forget something so important? Katrina looked at Marcus, her mouth wide open in shock. Marcus looked pretty happy, waiting for her response.

"Did, did I forget . . . our anniversary?"

Marcus nodded. "Looks like it, we've been married two thousand years today. Well, technically tomorrow, but it's almost midnight, which is close enough for me."

Katrina's heart sank, she felt so bad for forgetting something so important. She wanted to scream at herself for forgetting. It felt like Katrina was about to cry when Marcus laid a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Katrina, what matters to me is that you're here with me now, that's all I want."

Katrina smiled softly at Marcus. "I know, I just feel so bad. We've been married so long and I forgot about it."

"Longer than anyone else I know. Somehow we've managed not to kill each other, and remain faithful to each other."

"Of course, I love you too much to even consider cheating. Though there are times I've thought about killing you; this morning for example."

"I don't blame you one bit." Marcus said, laughing as he ate. "Too bad Daria isn't around to see this."

Katrina lowered her head at the mention of Daria's name. Just her name was enough to bring a tear to Katrina's eyes. Even though Daria died fifteen-hundred years ago it still wasn't easy on Katrina.

"As much as I miss her, can we please move on?"

"No problem, I don't like talking about her either." Marcus replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "So, you enjoying your breakfast?"

"Definitely, it's always delicious every time you cook. It's only making me feel worse about forgetting our anniversary."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll think of something to make up for it."

A devilishly seductive grin formed on Katrina's face. "I've already got something in mind. All I'm going to say is this; if it wasn't for the fact that being Lycan makes you sterile and me barren, what I have in mind would certainly result in me getting pregnant."

The look on Marcus' face made it difficult for Katrina not to laugh. Katrina loved messing with Marcus in that manner, it always stunned him and made him more spontaneous. Though Katrina knew that it wasn't possible for Lycans to conceive she still liked using it as a way to mess with Marcus.

Marcus leaned forward till his lips were inches away from Katrina's. "Who knows, we may get so heated that you could get pregnant."

"We'll see, after David gets here." Katrina quickly leaned forward, pressing her lips against Marcus' before he could do kiss her. "We can wait till we're finished with whatever he's got planned."

"Well, he's not here yet, we got time."

As if on Cue, someone knocked on the door to their suite and screamed, "Marcus, Katrina, and its David."

Marcus grumbled as he stood up, leaving Katrina sitting at the table frustrated, and walked to the door. He opened it and let reluctantly David inside. Though Marcus had known David for eight hundred years he still found his appearance funny. David was short for a Lycan, for a human in general. He was barely five feet tall, almost making him a midget. Compared to Marcus and Katrina, David was tiny but almost as fearsome a warrior as they were. Marcus and Katrina knew from experience that David's speed and agility made up for his size. Too bad David was known amongst the Lycan community for annoying everyone around him, to the point it made him difficult to be around. Marcus called it a classic case of Napoleon Syndrome.

"David, how have you been?" Marcus asked.

"Busy trying to find you two. You didn't give me good directions to find this room."

Katrina giggled quietly as she continued to eat, she knew that Marcus gave David bad directions on purpose. Marcus did it so he and Katrina could have more time together, wouldn't have been the first time he'd had done it. Unfortunately, that time it didn't appear to have worked very well.

"Sorry about that David, you know I'm not good at giving directions." Marcus said, getting another giggle from Katrina who knew that was a lie as well.

"Doesn't matter now, I'm here so we can discuss our assignment."

"Uh, can it wait till we're done eating?" Katrina asked.

"No, it needs to be done as soon as possible. If we wait too long then we'll miss our opportunity to take out the Colorado Pack. We know exactly where they will be tonight and we can't miss this opportunity."

Katrina rolled her eyes as she set down her fork. "Fine, let's get this over with quickly, I'm hungry."

David grumbled as he sat down across the table from Marcus and Katrina. "Did Marcus tell you about the pack we're hunting tonight?"

"A little bit, that they number in the fifties at least, and are responsible for dozens of deaths in the Colorado area."

"More like in the hundreds. They always rip their prey apart so that the authorities will report it as a bear, wolf, or mountain lion attack. Though Marcus is correct on the numbers, by my count there's fifty - seven, way too many for the two of us to handle."

Marcus leaned in close to Katrina and whispered, "Speak for yourself, little man."

Katrina smirked quietly to Marcus before speaking, "Makes sense how they've been able to get away with so much if they can shift the blame to animals."

"Exactly, that allows them to operate freely, and they got political assistance as well. They have officials in both the state government and Game and Fish commission that allows them to manipulate their attacks," David replied.

"Are they Werewolves as well?"

"From our knowledge, no, they're not," Marcus answered for David. "We believe the Werewolves are either using blackmail or threatening them or their families."

"Hm, I guess we'll have to deal with them as well, after we eliminate the pack," Katrina said.

"Of course, it's better strategy to take out the pack first, eliminating the threat first. Though doing so won't be easy. It's a large pack with at least three Berserkers Werewolves."

Katrina starred at Marcus stunned for a moment. She'd never heard of a pack having three Berserker Werewolves, usually it's just one as the alpha, rarely two as they compete for leadership of the pack. Berserker Werewolves were regarded as very dangerous, even by Lycans, as they've completely given in to the bloodlust, making them incredibly aggressive and unpredictable. Though Katrina and Marcus could easily handle a couple of Berserker Werewolves each, dealing with an entire pack along with them was a challenge on an entirely different level.

"Sounds to me like this is going to be one heck of a fun challenge," Katrina said.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing, hun." Marcus added, kissing Katrina on the cheek.

David shook his head, smiling at Marcus and Katrina. "I've said this before but you two are perfect for each other."

"Oh, we know." Marcus replied, "You said we know exactly where the pack is."

"Yes, but for tonight and tomorrow only. They'll be moving soon, so we have to act quickly."

"Then I guess we'd better get moving." Katrina said as she stood up. "Give me a moment to get dressed then we can leave."

Katrina turned and walked into the bedroom before Marcus or David could answer her. She made sure to shake her hips back and forth as she walked so Marcus could see. Though Katrina couldn't see Marcus' face she knew he was certainly hypnotized by her hips, probably drooling as well.

David shook his head, patting Marcus on the shoulder as Katrina closed the bedroom door. "Marcus, there is no doubt in my mind that you are the luckiest man alive."

Marcus laughed. "Oh, I know, I'm reminded of that every morning I wake up and she's by my side. After we've spent so much time apart I'm making sure neither of us ever wakes up without the other again."

To be continued.


	3. The Hunt

"Doesn't look like much of a Lycan hide out." Marcus whispered to Katrina and David as they hid in cluster of trees.

The three Lycans stood close together, looking into the small clearing where a large, abandoned milking barn stood. The barn was large enough for a pack and being situated in the middle of the Rocky Mountains made it easy to hide. For a pack as big as they were hunting it was the perfect hiding place.

"In a way you're right hun." Katrina whispered back, "The barn wouldn't be hard to spot from the air, any pilot flying over would see it. But, with the local officials in their pocket the pack is safe from just about anything."

"Anything except us." David added, "We do this quietly and we can take out most of them before they realize what happened."

Marcus sniffed the air and smelled something that made him nervous. "I don't think so. I only smell a few Werewolves in th barn, there should be more than what I'm sensing."

Katrina sniffed the air as well, "Yeah, I'm sensing the samething. Something is definitely off here if I can only sense five werewolves. This is not a good sign."

"How is that not a good sign? This means our job will be much easier?" David almost shouted.

"It means that most likely the pack has left to raid someplace. Marcus and I have seen this before many times." Katrina answered in a hushed voice. "We need to hurry if we're going to catch them."

"I agree, we should take out these Werewolves first, they may know where the pack went." Marcus said as he drew his revolver and checked it to see if it was loaded.

David suddenly jumped in front of Katrina and Marcus. "Whoa, hold up you two. I'm the one who found this place. That puts me in charge of what we do."

Marcus and Katrina glarred at David, low growls escaping their throats. Even though it was dark, the full moon being their only light, David could feel the anger Marcus and Katrina were directing at him. Their growls were low but even a near death person could have heard the anger in them. David took a step back from Marcus and Katrina.

Marcus broke the tension, speaking in a low, angry voice. "David, let me tell you something. Compared to Katrina and me, you are nothing more than a pup, we're your elders, by over a thousand years. I suggest biting your lip before you say something you'll regret."

David tried to get out a rebuttal but Marcus held up his hand stopping him. As much as Marcus wanted to continue yelling at David, it wasn't the necessary time, not when they're hunting Lycans. He knew that Katrina agreed with him, even though it was dark Marcus could tell.

"We'll talk more about your disrespect later, right now we got business to handle." Marcus said to a frustrated David then turned to Katrina. "We'll get close and try to jump them from above."

Katrina nodded and followed Marcus as he took off in a stealth run through the cornfield towards the barn; David stayed behind confused and shocked. Marcus and Katrina remained as possible as they worked their way through the corn. Neither of them said a word for a while till they were completely through.

"Did you really have to be so aggressive with him, hun?" Katrina whispered when they exited the corn field.

"Probably not, but I had to knock him down a peg or two. Someone had to teach that boy respect, might as well be me. Plus, I kind of enjoyed doing it to someone that drives me crazy like that." Marcus answered, then looked over his shoulder at Katrina. "The only way I want to be driven crazy is by you."

Katrina let out a soft giggle as she followed Marcus. "That's not hard to do, I just show you a little cleavage and you go crazy."

"That's true, but that's because I love you . . . and because you're amazing in bed."

"And don't you forget it. But, I think you forgot about something very important when you scolded David. You forgot that I'm older than you, which puts me in charge, so you have to listen to me."

Marcus smirked as they neared the fence. "Oh I know, I got no problem taking command from the sexiest Lycan in the world, especially since your rewards for following your orders are the best."

Marcus heard Katrina fight back a laugh as they made it to the fence surrounding the barn. The fence stood twelve feet high and covered in razor wire, making climbing it nearly impossible and highly painful. Marcus and Katrina just smirked to each other, such a fence would keep out most people, but not Lycans. Squatting to gather strength in their legs they jumped as high as they could, easily clearing the fence, and landed on their feet on the other side.

"As much as I'd like to continue our conversation we should focus on the task at hand." Katrina whispered, "We'll continue this conversation later."

Marcus nodded back, not saying a word to prevent the Werewolves hearing them. They ran silently, their footsteps not making the slightest sound, to the wall of the barn undetected. At the wall, they stopped and listened carefully for movement and voices. After a moment, they heard a shockingly low number of ten voices, they were expecting a lot more.

The two Lycans looked at each in the dark confused, and very suspicious. Neither of them said a word, not wanting to alert the Werewolves. Marcus used his hand to point up, telling Katrina to cover him from the roof. Katrina nodded and started climbing up the wall to the roof. Marcus stood on the ground watching Katrina climb. From his position on the ground, Marcus could observe her well toned body, particularly her rear. If Marcus had been a weaker man he would've been hypnotized.

 _Dang I'm one lucky man._

Marcus waited till Katrina was on the roof to sneak his way to the front of the barn. On his way there Marcus spotted David crawling to the front door as well. Marcus quickly signaled David to get his attention and waved at him to position himself at the barn's back door. David understood and quietly made his way to the back door as Marcus snuck to the front. As soon as Marcus reached the door he unslung his XM8 and switched the select fire to semi - auto.

 _Ok, we got all entrances covered and Katrina on the roof providing cover. This should be simple and quick with only ten werewolves._

Marcus grabbed the door handle, ready to burst in, when he heard someone approaching the door from the inside. Before the door flew open Marcus jumped back against the edge of the barn as a Werewolf walked out whistling to himself. Marcus pressed himself against the side of the barn, glad that the Werewolf hadn't detected him. He watched as the Werewolf walked to the edge of the darkness and unbuckled his belt. It didn't take long for Marcus to realize that the Werewolf was releaving himself in front of him.

 _Ok, literally catching an enemy with his pants down . . . not something I ever wanted to do. Man I'm glad I'm not in front of him._

After a couple seconds fighting back vomit, Marcus carefully lowered his XM8 and drew his dagger. As quietly as possible, Marcus snuck up behind the whizzing Werewolf, ready to react in case he was noticed. Marcus managed to sneak up right behind the Werewolf without being noticed just as he finished wetting the ground. In a flash, Marcus lunged at the Werewolf, wrapped his left arm around his neck and pressed his dagger against the center of his back, digging the tip in slightly.

"Scream and you'll be dead before a sound escapes your lips."

The Werewolf nearly screamed out of fear out of shock only for Marcus cover his mouth. Marcus pressed the dagger slightly deeper to prove his point, in case the Werewolf tried to fight back. Despite Marcus' attempts to calm him down the Werewolf still squirmed.

Marcus grabbed a hold of the Werewolf's throat and squeezed tightly. "Stop squirming already, all it would take is for me to thrust only an inch further to penetrate your heart. You'd be dead before you hit the ground. Now, calm down before I get annoyed."

The Werewolf nodded as he relaxed, though Marcus could hear his heart beating a hundred miles an hour. After a moment Marcus stopped squeezing the Werewolf's throat and held on to his shoulders. Marcus, despite the urgency of the mission, saw it as an opportunity to learn a few things.

"Ok, now, I'm going to ask you a couple questions and you're going to answer them truthfully, or I'll put the dagger a little lower and wet the ground with your guts."

The Werewolf nodded nervously. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"Smart move, now, how many Werewolves are in the barn? How many bezerks do you have?"

The Werewolf turned his head, stunned by Marcus' words, until Marcus pressed his dagger slightly deeper into his back. "Eleven in the barn, our pack numbers fifty-three with four bezerks."

"Huh, and where are the rest?"

"I'll never tell you."

Marcus shook his head in frustration. "I think you will, after a quick I cut off something a piece of you."

Marcus withdrew his dagger from the Werewolf's back and moved it so that the tip was close to the Werewolf's groin. Though Marcus couldn't see the Werewolf's face he could tell that he was panicking; smell of fear coming from the Werewolf confirmed that. Threatening that part of the body was almost always effective. Marcus wished he could've seen the Werewolf's face.

"Alright, I'll tell you. Our leader took everyone to a town nearby that's been causing problems for us. They've been getting suspicious of all the mysterious disappearances."

"Why do such a thing? Attacking a town is only going to draw attention to you." Marcus asked as he moved his dagger to the Werewolf's back.

"The town is in the middle of nowhere,

no one comes to visit it. From my understand the town is almost a ghost town, about to be abandoned anyway. So wiping it from existence won't draw any attention to us."

Marcus growled loudly, hearing the Werewolf pack's plan infuriated every bone in his body. Killing innocent civilians was something Lycan's, especially Marcus, hated with a passion. There was no chance Marcus was going to let them succeed.

"So, you're going to let me go now right?" The Werewolf beckoned.

Without replying, Marcus drove his dagger deep into the Werewolf's back. Marcus covered the Werewolf's mouth, preventing him from screaming and alerting the others. The Werewolf struggled for a second before his life ended. Once Marcus was sure the Werewolf was done he let go and withdrew the dagger as his victim collapsed on the ground.

Marcus looked down at the Werewolf's body. "I would like to thank you properly but I don't have time. I got a town to save."

Marcus snuck back to the edge of the barn, knowing he had take out these Werewolves before going after the pack. But, when Marcus made it to the door he found it strangely silent inside. The deathly silent made Marcus nervous, such a thing rarely meant good news for him. Marcus peeked inside from around the corner to see a Katrina standing in the barn surrounded by the bodies of Werewolves. Blood dripped off her blade as she looked from body to body checking that they were dead. For some strange reason, Marcus found the sight a bit of a turn on, though any sight with Katrina could count as one.

Katrina turned to Marcus with a smile on her face. "You were taking too long and I was getting bored."

Marcus shook his head as he entered the barn. "Sorry hun, I saw the opportunity to get some information and I took it. I figured you'd wait for me to finish."

"Took you long enough, I had to entertain myself with these idiots."

"What, I didn't even hear you take them out."

Katrina smirks. "Of course not, unlike you my loving husband, I prefer the stealth method, taking out the enemy without them even knowing I'm there. Meanwhile you prefer the bravado, barge in, guns a blazing, direct approach."

Marcus shook his head, smirking at Katrina's statement; she was right. "As much I'd love to debate our strategies we got more concerning things to deal with. Where's David, he's going to want to hear this?"

"I don't know, I had to take care of these mongrels all by myself."

"No surprise there, can't count on him to do anything other than order people around."

"Hey, I heard that." David shouted as he ran into the barn. "I was waiting on the signal that never came. This is why I hate working with you two. You both work as a two person team so much that anyone else is seen as a crutch."

"That's what happens when you've been working together for over two thousand years." Katrina replied with a soft growl.

Marcus jumped in between Katrina and David before she pounded a hole in his head. "As much as I'd like to see Katrina beat you to a bloody pulp David, we got other issues to deal with, like the rest of the pack."

"Well, if you know where they are please feel free to share it instead of hogging the information for yourself." David shouted.

That comment was the last straw for Marcus. Quick as lightning, Marcus spun around and backhanded David in the face, sending him flying backwards. David slammed into the barn wall, nearly crashing through it. The impact knocked David out who collapsed on the floor in a heap.

"Was that really necessary Marcus?" Katrina asked, shaking her head while giggling.

"Probably not, I just couldn't take his attitude anymore. Besides, he wouldn't have been much help to us anyway. He probably would've just sat back and let us deal with the problem "

"True, wouldn't have been the first time." Katrina replied. "So, what did you learn?"

"I'll explain on the way, we got to get to a nearby town as soon as possible."

"Really, you're going to pull that cliche move?" Katrina said, getting a smirk from Marcus.

"Yeah, we don't have time to lose."

Marcus took off runnng towards his motorcycle with a reluctant Katrina following close behind. Though Marcus knew the dangers lying ahead he left David lying unconscious in the barn, neither Marcus or Katrina wanted David's help. Marcus hardly thought about David as he mounted his motorcycle, other thoughts took priority as he and Katrina took off.

 _I hope we're not too late._

X

"Do you see them Katrina?" Marcus shouted into his mouth piece as he rode his motorcycle down the dark road.

"Not yet, I'm starting to get concerned. If they're this far ahead we may already be too late."

Marcus sighed under his helmet. The thought of innocent people dying and him not being able to stop it weighed heavily on his heart. His only relief was that they were catching up quickly on the Werewolves. Thankfully, after he and Katrina got on their motorcycles they were both able to pick up the scent of Werewolves; the stench of Werewolves were to detect, especially for two powerful Lycans. From the scent they were able to determine that the pack had left within the last fifteen minutes, giving them runs to track the pack down if they hurried. They had no problem following the scent on the road, but that didn't bring much comfort to Marcus: he wouldn't be satisfied till the pack was exterminated.

"No matter what the outcome we'll slaughter all of them. This pack needs to be eliminated, preferably before they destroy the town." Marcus shouted as drifted around a sharp turn with Katrina close behind him.

"It would be easier to do that if you hadn't knocked David unconscious." Katrina replied, Marcus detecting a hint of sarcasm in her voice of the radio.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I lost my temper with that midget. But we don't need him anyway. It's nothing that the best Lycan tag team can't handle."

"Tag team, I thought we were a duo?"

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Would you prefer duo or master and slave?"

"Master and slave, since I control everything you do with a sway of my hips."

"That's because you're the sexiest Lycan in the world. We can talk about our mating activities later, after we destroy this pack."

Marcus heard Katrina sigh over the radio. "Fine, I'll give you my anniversary present later."

Marcus and Katrina drove their motorcycles as fast as they could. Thanks to the modifications Marcus and Katrina made to their engines they had no problem pushing their motorcycles over two - hundred miles - per - hour; speeds they desperately needed to succeeded that night. Their motorcycles were also modified with suppressors, making them so quiet that it was almost impossible for anyone to hear them approaching. Due to the suppressors their motorcycles were perfect for quick stealth activities, allowing them to get the drop on their targeted easily.

Neither of them had their headlights on for stealth purposes, they didn't need it with the night vision googles on their helmets, allowing them to navigate at night with ease. Their helmets were state of the heart with night vision and radios installed so Marcus and Katrina could talk to each other. The helmets were made of incredibly strong Kevlar material, protecting their heads from injury if they fell and hit their heads on the pavement, and from bullets as powerful as .50 machine guns. Marcus and Katrina's motorcycle jackets and pants were also made of Kevlar fiber with ballistic plates stitched in to protect vital areas. Thanks to their protective clothing Marcus and Katrina didn't have to worry about injury from vehicle crashes or bullets.

After riding for nearly ten minutes, Marcus spotted a small convoy ahead. The mere sight of a convoy on that road at that time of night aroused Marcus' suspicions. Getting closer, Marcus could make out a semi - truck pulling a large trailer, with three jeeps surrounding it; two in front and one behind. Even from that distance Marcus could smell the stench of Werewolves.

"Katrina, are you seeing this?" Marcus said into his microphone. "They must have the majority of th pack in the trailer."

"Oh yeah, definitely the pack we're looking for. I've never seen a pack use a method like this before."

"Me neither, they must be getting smarter."

Marcus looked up ahead of the convoy and spotted what he guessed was the town in the distance. From his guess the town was around a mile away, not allowing Marcus and Katrina much time to stop the convoy.

As they got closer, Marcus picked up a mixture of scents in the convoy. From what Marcus could tell the convoy consisted of a mix of humans and Werewolves. The combination of scents confused Marcus.

"Hey Katrina, are you smelling humans in the convoy too?"

"Yes, they must have humans driving the convoy while the Werewolves hide in the trailer."

"That's what I'm thinking too." Marcus replied, looking up at the night sky and spotting the full moon. "Can't have Werewolves driving when they're changed. But where did they get the humans?"

"My guess, one of the politicians they're blackmailing must have something to do with that. Most likely they're just thugs or gang members, hopefully not trained soldiers."

"I hope so too, that just complicates things even further. It doesn't help that we're running out of time quickly."

"I know, we need to do something now." Katrina shouted loudly, hurting Marcus' ears. "Marcus, do you got any sticky explosives?"

"Of course, I never leave home without it."

"Good, I'll distract them while you get one on that semi."

Before Marcus could respond Katrina throttled her motorcycle towards the convoy. In an instant she was beside the last Jeep in the convoy, riding up beside it unseen. Marcus watched from a distance as Katrina rode up till she was right beside the driver and drew her sidearm. Katrina fired one shot at the driver and from what Marcus saw her aim was perfect. The Jeep swerved wildly all over the road before driving off the edge and down the hill. Marcus smirked as the Jeep rolled down the steep hill before crashing in a blaze into a tree at the base.

 _Dang Katrina, that'll get their attention._

The convoy nearly came to a halt, allowing Katrina to easily maneuver around the vehicles. She sped past the semi with ease as the two jeeps swerved to cut her off, only for her to easily dodge them. From Marcus' view the jeeps and semi were completely focused on Katrina, not even noticing him.

 _Ok, Katrina's got their attention, now it's my turn. She can handle the jeeps with ease._

Marcus throttled his motorcycle to the edge of the trailer. He pulled out a sticky explosive, basically C4 covered in a strong adhesive, and stuck it to the rear axle. Once the explosive was on Marcus drove around the right side of the trailer till he was positioned behind passenger seat. Marcus quickly stuck another explosive on the right front tire, then drove ahead of the semi.

 _Fire in the hole._

Marcus pressed the detonator, blowing the C4 on the semi. The trailer collapsed onto the road as the explosive completely blew off the rear axle and leaned to the right as the second explosive blew off the semi's right front tire. Marcus looked behind him to watch as the semi buckled under the trailer, blowing the hinges apart, separating the trailer from it. The trailer skidded across the road before turning on its right side and slowly coming to a halt. The semi turned out of control off the road and rolled down the hill.

 _Huh, not exactly what I had planned but that'll work. At least the Werewolves inside will be stunned and hurt._

Marcus parked his motorcycle shortly behind the end of the trailer, hearing the Werewolves growling and roaring inside. He stepped off his motorcycle, grabbed his XM8 assault rifle, and switched the safety off to burst. Taking a marksan's stance, Marcus readied himself for the inevitable rush.

 _Finally, time for some fun._

The back door of the trailer flew open with such force that it was blown off its hinges. Out from the dark trailer stepped a changed Werewolf, letting out a blood thirsty howl that was followed by several more from inside. The Werewolf stood nine feet tall and covered in thick, black fur. Its claws and teeth were black and appeared to be razor sharp, Marcus knew from experience both could rip through most metals with ease. The eyes were blood red, showing the rage and animalistic nature in the creature. Marcus could almost feel the bloodlust in the air from so many Werewolves together. He knew he was in for a fight, but at least he held the advantage with the Werewolves coming out of the trailer; making them easy targets for him.

Marcus raised his rifle and fired a burst at the front Werewolf, hitting it in the middle of it's chest. Before the Werewolf could collapse on the ground Marcus turned to another and dropped it as well. Marcus quickly popped from target to target as they rushed out of the trailer at him, only firing a burst at each one. His aim was quick and precise, each burst hitting a Werewolf in the chest, more than enough for a lethal blow. In a matter of seconds ten Werewolves lied dead at the trailer door, building a barrier the outcoming Werewolves had to maneuver over, unfortunately for Marcus, his magazine was empty and the Werewolves were still pouring out of the trailer towards him.

 _Crap, this is the disadvantage I was dreading._

Marcus quickly dropped the empty magazine and loaded a new one as the Werewolves advanced quickly towards him. By the time Marcus had chambered a round three Werewolves were upon him. Marcus raised his rifle as a Werewolf swung its claws at his head, but he was quicker, firing a burst into the its neck. Before the Werewolf could scream out another from the right swung at Marcus' head with another readying to pounce at him. Marcus ducked in time to avoid getting his face removed and jumped back just as the other Werewolf pounced. He landed safely and fired a burst at each Werewolf, dropping them both.

"Ok, Katrina, I could really use some help here." Marcus shouted into his microphone.

"I can hear the fight from here. Don't worry, I'm in my way, just hold out a couple of moments."

Marcus hoped he'd last that long with a large pack charging at him, or at least slow them down. An idea formed in his mind, wouldn't stop them but it'd buy him time. He aimed at the led Werewolf as they continued to pour out of the container and he shot the led one in the right knee. The Werewolf howled in pain as it collapsed, stopping in front of the others, causing them to pause for a moment. Marcus used to split second interruption to fire burst after burst at the temporarily paused targets. In a matter of seconds, Marcus had dropped nearly ten Werewolves, their bodies piling up in front of the others allowing Marcus time to reload without having to worry about them getting close to him.

Despite slowing them down the Werewolves continued to pour out of the trailer and rush at him. Marcus continued to fire bursts at them, even though he knew that with their numbers they'd eventually reach him. Already they were getting close enough for Marcus had to dodge their attacks as heshot them. He counted over thirty coming at him, more than even he could handle on his own, without transforming.

Marcus drew his sword and slashed a Werewolf across the face as he fired a burst into another's face. _At this rate, I'll have to transform if Katrina doesn't get back. But I'd be vulnerable leaving these idiots to rip me to shreds. Please Katrina hurry up._

As if the heavens answered his call, Marcus heard Katrina's motorcycle fast approaching. He looked up after burying his sword into a Werewolf's chest to see Katrina speeding around the trailer. Katrina rode around the Werewolves and tossed a strange grenade into the middle of the group.

 _Dang it Katrina, do you have to make such a bold move with me nearby._

Marcus jumped back as the grenade exploded, instead of sending shrapnel and flames everywhere a thick, silver cloud expels from it. The shockwave sent the nearest Werewolves flying as the cloud expanded quickly, enveloping around them. Marcus watched, keeping his rifle at the ready, as the Werewolves started choking from the cloud.

"Silver grenade, nice touch hun." Marcus shouted to Katrina as she parked her motorcycle beside him.

Katrina smirked as she rose off her motorcycle. "How many times do I have to tell ya, fight smarter not harder?"

Marcus shook his head as he watched the Werewolves suffocate from the silver. The Werewolves gasp for breath as they collapse on the road one by one. Within moments all were on the ground, drawing their last breath. It was moments like that Marcus was glad he was a Lycan, making him immune to silver.

"Kind of reminds me of mustard gas attacks in the First World War." Marcus said.

"Kind of, that wasn't as quick as this. But what bothers me is I don't see the bezerks."

Marcus sniffed the air and what he detected sent shivers down his spine. "They're still alive, in the trailer."

Marcus pointed through the silver cloud as three dark figures walked out of the trailer. Though the gas clouded their view they could make out three werewolves vividly. Somehow, they were in their human form, despite a full moan shining brightly that night. Marcus guessed it had something to do with the gas masks they were wearing, which explained how the silver gas hadn't killed them.

"This is a new one." Katrina said as she stood beside Marcus, drawing her sidearm.

"I know, I've never seen anything like this. Must be new technology, though that leaves to question where they got it."

"Agreed, though there will be time to learn those answers later. We can figure them out AFTER we kill them."

Marcus nodded as he lowered his rifle and drew his sword. From his extensive experience, silver rounds did little damage to berserker werewolves, even head shots wouldn't bring them down. Their body's damage resistance and regenerative abilities were on par with the Lycans, making them very hard to kill. For bringing down berserkers a sword or axe was usually the best option; unless they had a RPG or .50 caliber silver sniper rifle. However, transforming into their Lycan forms would work easily it wasn't worth Marcus and Karina doing so against only three berserkers.

 _If I was alone there'd be no choice but for me to transform. But with Katrina by my side there's nothing we can't overcome. These idiots don't realize what they're getting themselves into._

Marcus looked over at Katrina, seeing a big smile on her face. She loved the thrill of combat just as much, if not more than he did. If anything, Katrina thrived in near impossible combat situations, it's what made them such a strong couple, making them constantly push each other to new heights.

"So, which do you want hun?" Marcus asked as the berzerks started taking their masks off.

"The big one, you can handle the other two."

"Should've known you'd say that." Marcus sighed as Katrina drew her daggers.

Marcus and Katrina stood side by side and watched as the berzerks pulled off their gas masks and tossed them aside. Almost immediately their bodies started shifting. Marcus and Katrina immediately realized that the masks not only protected them from silver gas but also somehow prevented them from transforming. They watched in fascination as the berzerkers transformed to their full and terrifying forms, something even they have rarely seen before. In mere seconds, three ten feet tall, muscular, black werewolves stand before them. Unlike other werewolves their coats were thicker and mangy and their claws and teeth were longer and sharper. They were also drooling and roaring a lot more at Marcus and Katrina.

"Hm, impressive, at least they'll provide a challenge for us." Katrina said, smirking as she clutched her daggers.

"Maybe, they're strong but slow. You ready for a new Werewolf pelt?"

"From you, I'll gladly accept it."

Marcus smirked as he readied his position for the fight. Focusing solely on his two opponents, everything else blurred out of his mind, concentration was essential to not only surviving berzerker attacks but also in killing them. In an moment, all unnecessary thoughts were out of Marcus' mind, only instinctual skill and the the fight itself remained on his mind. It's a technique that Marcus and Katrina had spent centuries perfecting, it was perfect for their current situation.

The two berserkers suddenly charged at Marcus so fast that to most people they'd be little more than a blur, but he saw them plain as day. One of the berserkers pushed ahead of the other, raising his arm to swipe Marcus to pieces. At the last instant, Marcus ducked under the berzerker's claws, easily avoiding certain death and lunged forward, his sword itching for blood. Marcus swung his sword into the berzerker's left leg, the edge slicing deep into the flesh and muscle.

Before the berzerker could scream in pain, Marcus' attention was on the second berzerker as it lunged at him. Marcus leaped to the right, avoiding the berserkers attack and brought his sword in a downward chop on his overextended victim. The blade hit the berzerker's right arm, slicing like a knife through paper. The berzerker howled in pain as it's arm hit the ground, leaving itself open to Marcus. He gripped his sword tightly and jumped at his opponent with all his strength. The berzerker looked up just as Marcus brought his sword down on him, the tip finding its mark at the base of his neck. The tip penetrated deep, all the way to the hilt, as Marcus put his whole weight into the landing, his sword severing the berzerker's spine. The blow was so powerful the berzerker didn't have time to scream in pain before the blade ended his life.

 _One down, one moron to go._

Marcus heard a roar and looked up to see the other berzerker lunging at him. With no time to withdraw his sword Marcus jumped back, barely avoiding the berzerker's claws ripping his chest apart. The berzerker kept lunging at Marcus who could only dodge the fast and powerful attacks. Thankfully for Marcus the berzerker was powerful but clumsy and predictable, making it easier for him to dodge the attacks.

 _I just need one opening and I can end this._

Marcus quickly glanced behind him as the berzerker overextended again, giving him time to dodge, and saw his opportunity. He jumped back as the berzerker lunged at him again, not seeing the Werewolf body before him. The berzerker ran into the body, tripping and falling onto the asphalt. Before the berzerker could get up Marcus drew his axe and spun around, building momentum into his blow. Marcus swung the axe up with everything he had, bringing the head up into the berzerker's jaw. The berzerker went flying backwards, landing hard on his back, clutching his shattered head. Before the berzerker could recover Marcus lunged and brought his axe down on his head. The blow was so powerful that it nearly split the berzerker's head in two.

"Took you long enough hun." Katrina shouted at Marcus.

Marcus spun around to see Katrina standing over the lead berzerker smiling, her two daggers dripping in blood. "Hey, you try fighting two berzerker's at the same time."

"Nah, that's what you're for. Besides, you didn't need my help. And if it makes you feel better I'll think of a way to make up for it when we get back to the hotel."

Marcus shook his head as he pulled his axe out of the berzerker then retrieved his sword. He knew she was right, he did love a challenge, and fighting two berzerkers at once certainly was one. But, there were other things to think about at that moment, like cleaning the scene before humans arrived and learned about werewolves.

"So hun, are you going to help me clean up at least?"

Katrina shook her head as she pulled out a small metal ball from her pouch. "You haven't heard about these yet?"

Marcus shook his head. "No, I've been a little distant from the community lately. Looks like some kind of grenade to me."

"You're partially right, it's a silver cleansing grenade. Once activated it releases a potent silver cloud that acts like acid to anything with weakness to it within a fifty yard radius. It won't affect us since we're Lycans but it'll dissolve these Werewolf bodies in a matter of minute, leaving nothing behind but a pile of ashes."

"That's . . . impressive, and saves us time. With the sun coming up soon we don't have much time. Plus, I'm sure that people in the town heard the firefight, it's not like we were very quiet."

"Don't worry, we'll be long gone by the time anyone gets here, and the silver grenade will have done its job by then as well." Katrina replied as she straddled her motorcycle and activated the grenade.

Katrina tossed the grenade into the middle of the bodies and immediately a thick, silver cloud expelled from it, covering the area quickly. It was so thick that Marcus and Katrina had to cover their faces to keep from gagging. They could hardly see anything through the smoke, making it hard for Marcus to find his motorcycle.

 _Oh man, if it's this bad for me I'd had to be a werewolf alive in this._

Marcus found his motorcycle as quickly as he could and mounted it. Through the smoke Marcus could barely make out the silver doing its job. He spotted a Werewolf already dissolving through the smoke. The fur had already melted off and the skin was quickly dissolving at an alarming rate. He could already see through the skin getting a clear view of the werewolf's insides. The sight of it nearly made Marcus vomit. He quickly put the thought out of his head and drove out of the silver cloud with Katrina beside him.

"That was not something I wanted to see." Marcus shouted into his mouth piece.

"Me neither, at least this mess is behind us. Though we need to get this mask to the community for examination."

Marcus looked over at Katrina and noticed she had one of the Berzerker's masks strapped to her hip. Apparently, she had grabbed one at some point during the fight. Marcus had completely forgotten about grabbing one, and was very happy Katrina had remembered.

"Sounds good, we'll give it to David when we find him, unfortunately."

"How about when he finds us?" Katrina asked, playfully. "I say we go back to the hotel and wait for him to find us. We still haven't finished our anniversary."

Marcus smiled as he kept up with Katrina. Though Marcus knew David would be furious at them, and most likely get them in trouble with Fenrir, he didn't really care, even though he knew it was kind of a jerk move. After a stressful week, and being reunited with his wife after a year, Marcus' only real concern was being with Katrina. Besides, they had accomplished their assignment with hardly any help from David, which put Marcus at ease. It helped significantly that it'd knock David down a few pegs, hopefully making him more humble and less annoying in the future.

"I'm game for that hun. How about a race?" Marcus asked as he looked over at Katrina.

"Of course babe, I'd love to beat you, but how about we make it interesting? Last one back has to do whatever the winner says?"

Marcus grinned devilishly under his helmet. "Alright, just don't think I'm going to make it easy for you."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, just don't expect to be walking anytime soon after you lose."

Without saying another word Katrina gunned her motorcycle, taking off like a rocket, leaving Marcus in the dust. Marcus growled softly as Katrina took an early lead, she must have some dark things planned for him. Katrina always had something dark planned for the bedroom and it made Marcus both excited and nervous. He wasn't about to lose either, Marcus had his own twisted plans for their honeymoon as well, though he doubted if his ideas were as dark as Katrina's.

 _Man that woman is twisted, at times I wonder if she's trying to kill me in bed. But I wouldn't have it any other way._

Marcus twisted back on the throttle as hard as he could, shooting off after Katrina. Within a moment he was close behind her, the competition for the lead quickly becoming heated. The winner of the race would come down to last whoever strategized and took advantage of their opponent's weaknesses better. Though the race was heated and the stakes were high for the long time lovers it was clear that in their eyes there'd be no real loser.


	4. Relaxation and Pondering

Chapter 3: Relaxation and Pondering

Marcus stood at the edge of the balcony, looking over Aspen as the sun rose in the east, illuminating the outline of the city. Throughout his long life, Marcus had seen the sun rise so many times that he couldn't count them, but it had yet to lose its effect on him. He had seen similar beauties in many locations over the past two millennias: Jersalem, Paris, Moscow, Berlin, Nepal, Constantinople, Alaska, and Rome just to name a few places. There was something about watching the sunrise that brought peace to Marcus, the beauty always calmed him down and made him smile at the beginning of the day.

Watching the sunrise distracted Marcus from the dark thoughts clouding his mind, particularly the ones from recent days. The event with Jamie last week and the operation with David were at the front of his mind. Even though the operation was two days ago something felt strange about it. Having a near perfect memory, Marcus remembered almost every detail of the fight. He spotted his share of mistakes that he made in his flashbacks, but there was something else bothering him; the berserker werewolves somehow having gas masks that not only protected them from silver but also suppressed their transformation. He'd heard rumors about such technology from other Lycans but didn't believe them. Seeing it for himself scared him a little, the potential danger a Werewolf could cause with such a thing was a matter for concern. The recent increase in Werewolf attacks didn't ease his worry either.

But, what plagued Marcus' mind even more was the incident with David. Deep down he felt bad for knocking David out and leaving him behind. Even thoug Marcus hated David with a passion, as did most Lycans, he still felt bad about it, though he deserved to be knocked down a few pegs. That was two days ago, and, unfortunately for them, wasn't the last time they saw David either. Yesterday morning, David arrived at Marcus and Katrina's room as they were finishing breakfast, very angry to say the least. Instead of getting drawn into an argument with him, Marcus simply tossed him the gas mask they retrieved, told him to take it to the compound, and shut the door before David could start speaking. Since then, Marcus had been worried how David would respond to everything that happened, the thought that he might do something drastic weighed heavily on his mind. But, Katrina quickly took his mind off it, she had very effective ways of relaxing him.

It wasn't till that morning the thoughts surfaced in his mind again. However, as beautiful as sunrise was it's nothing compared to the sight behind him. Slowly, Marcus turned around, looking at the beautiful woman lying in his bed sound asleep. Even though it was still dark, he could clearly see Katrina sleeping gently like an angel, HIS angel. The bedsheets clung tight to her well - toned and shapely body, He knew there was nothing covering her beneath the sheets. He starred at Katrina, watching the sheets rise as she breathed, observing every detail, something he's done countless times during their marriage, but had yet to get tired of doing. To Marcus, she was still as beautiful as the day he'd met her over two thousand years ago.

"Are you going to stare at me all day?" Katrina said without opening her eyes.

Marcus couldn't help but smirk as he looked at Katrina. "How long have you been awake?"

"A few minutes, I could feel your eyes looking me over."

"Can you blame me for starring at the sexiest woman in the world."

Katrina smirked as she opened her eyes and slowly sat up. Marcus watched closely as she held the blankets tight against her bare body. He knew she was teasing him, it's really all she did when they're alone. Katrina pretended not to notice his stare, which only aroused him even more.

"Two thousand years and you can still make me blush." Katrina said, yawning softly.

"Call it a gift, I speak the truth, you are gorgeous."

"And all yours, so I'd say you're incredibly lucky."

"Try the luckiest man alive." Marcus replied as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Then why does there appear to be something else on your mind besides me?"

"Hm, you know me very well, hun."

"Of course, your my husband, I'm supposed to know everything about you. If anything, if my duty to know you better than you know yourself." Katrina said, laying a hand on Marcus' shoulder.

"Let me guess, so you can manipulate me right?"

Marcus and Katrina both start laughing, knowing fully well what he said was true. If there's one thing she's good at, besides killing Werewolves, it's manipulating him. Most of her manipulative techniques involve a bedroom, which on Marcus always work. If he was being honest, he enjoyed being manipulated by Katrina, it was quality time they spent together alone, time they both absolutely loved.

"So, are you going to tell me what's bothering you or am I going to have to guess?" Katrina asked softly, looking up at her mate with the puppy dog eyes expression she knew he couldn't resist.

"Unfortunately, there is something bothering me, it's the recent Werewolf activity."

"Huh, so you've noticed it as well?"

Marcus nodded. "Oh yes, that's why I was away from you for so long. The recent activity I've seen lately is unusually high. I haven't seen the Werewolves this active since the sixth century; that worries me."

"You sure about that hun? I've spent most of my time this last year in the community. It seems to be a little higher than usual from what I've noticed."

"From what I've seen it is. This past year I've tracked down pack after pack, exterminating them any place I find them. In that time alone I've found at least thirteen packs."

Katrina gasped, the look on her face making Marcus laugh. "Thirteen, that number can't be right, your number is three times higher than anyone else's. Are you sure it's not because you've been unusually dedicated to finding them?"

"Im sure of it. You remember last year when I started my hunt?"

"Yes, you found information of pack locations in the Rockies and headed out without saying much to me about it?"

"And I'm sorry about that, I was just making sure the information was accurate and not a trap. It wouldn't have been the first time Werewolves have planted information to lead us into a trap, I had to make sure so you wouldn't be in danger."

Katrina glared at Marcus with a look that would've caused a hundred year old oak tree to wither and die. The look sent shivers down Marcus' spine, he knew from experience that she was angry and might arrack him. Whenever Marcus saw that look he knew the best thing to do was to put up his hands, surrender, and apologize, running would only make it worse.

"I'm sorry Hun, I was just joking."

"I know, I'm just messing with you." Katrina said, suddenly laughing making Marcus sigh in relief. "At least you had a good reason for leaving like that, I hope it was worth it."

"Well, leaving you behind wasn't, but the search turned out to be a success. I found a small pack and exterminated them easily. Turns out the map I found was very accurate in revealing pack locations. I've been following that map very closely since then, trying to take them out before they realized what was happening and moved. That's why I never asked for help, it would've taken too long."

"Ah, I take it you succeeded in wiping all of them out?"

"Yes, but what struck me as odd was that none of them was a large pack. The largest pack I saw in that time had only ten members." Marcus said, trying not to focus on Katrina's bare form barely being covered by the bed sheets.

"Huh, that does sound strange, how many packs did you say there were?"

"At least thirteen, I lost track over time, though I reported each one back to the community, so they have an accurate number."

Katrina slowly stood up, appearing to think, keeping the sheets covering her body. Marcus found himself starring intently at his beautiful wife, observing every detail of he body, as she began pacing in front of him. His eyes followed her back and forth hoping to see something, but couldn't get a good view despite being so close. As frustrating and beautiful as it was he knew she was doing it on purpose.

"Hm, sounds to me like a new tactic the Werewolves are using." Katrina said, not looking at Marcus. "I've never heard of so many small packs being in one area like you're describing; usually there's either one big pack controling the area or a couple of smaller packs fighting for control. For so many small packs to be in one region and not fighting each other might be a sign of something else."

"Like them all being part of the same pack?" Marcus suggested, getting a shocked looked from Katrina.

"You've considered it to haven't you?"

"Yes, it makes sense to me that they were all part of one big pack You didn't think I was just running around killing Werewolves without thinking were you?"

"Actually, that's exactly what I thought you were doing." Katrina said sarcastically, getting a smirk from Marcus."

"Oh haha, very funny. What I believe is that the group we exterminated together a couple days was the main force while the smaller packs I've hunted down over the past year were individual cells working to benefit the pack."

"Like an terrorist organization or spy network operating an region? That's VERY unusual of Werewolves, I wonder why they're doing this now. They haven't done stuff like this since the purge in the eighth century."

Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I never found any evidence about that. But, as far as this region of the world is concerned, it doesn't really matter anymore, we've taken them all out."

"But you can't say the same thing for the rest of the world, that's the problem. For all we know this could be happening all over the world."

"I know, and why now after so long. We've killed so many of them over the past millennia that these actions shouldn't be possible."

"Of course, they should be close to extinction by now, instead their numbers seem to be rising." Katrina said as she finally stopped pacing in front of Marcus. "We need to discuss with Fenrir about this."

"If this is going on all over the world then I agree. He at least needs to know about the situation in the Rockies. Maybe he knows what's going on."

"Hopefully, it's a long trip to the castle from here. And don't you have to meet with that kid first?"

Marcus nodded. "Yes, we can meet up with Jamie along the way. It should be quick, as long as he listens to us, otherwise he might end up in a ditch."

"Especially if he flirts with me. I think you'd take care of that pretty quickly."

"Nah, I think you'd accept his flirts just to tease me."

Katrina giggled. "Probably, wouldn't be the first time I've done that. All joking aside, I hope your assumptions are correct, otherwise it's not going to end well for him."

"Of course, I don't want to hunt the kid down like a dog. But, I guess we'll worry about that bridge when we get to it."

"Yeah, guess that means our anniversary is over; time to get back to work."

Katrina sighed as she stood up and headed toward the bathroom to shower. She was opening the bathroom door when she stopped suddenly, as if she was frozen. To Marcus it was as if a dirty thought had entered her mind.

Katrina smiled as she looked over her shoulder, facing away from Marcus. "Hun, instead of wasting time getting ready how about we save time by taking a shower together?"

Without saying another word, Katrina looked over her shoulder at Marcus as she let go of the bedsheets, letting them drop on the floor around her feet. Marcus' heart nearly jumped out of his chest as he saw his wife standing in the bathroom doorway, her body free as a bird, facing the other way to tease him. Even though Marcus had seen the gorgeous view thousands of times it still mesmerized him. Katrina stood at the door for a moment before walking into the bathroom, halfway closing the door behind him.

 _Man this woman is a master temptress, and I wouldn't have it any other way._ Marcus thought as he stood up off the bed and walked to the bathroom, hearing Katrina turning on the shower as he pushed the door open. _My lovely wife, what did I ever do to deserve such a beautiful, sexy Lycan like you? I'll give you the world to keep you happy._

* * *

"Hey kid, we're here, wake up."

Jamie was woken up from his sleep by a rough shoulder push and a deep voice. Despite being as tired as he was the push was enough to fully wake up Jamie almost immediately and remind him that he was currently the passenger on a semi-truck.

"Where are we?" Jamie asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Dardanelle, Arkansas, I told you this was as far as I could take you." The large truck driver mumbled as he shut off the truck.

Jamie looked around him, finding little more than an old rural town. The truck was situated in the parking lot of a small Wal-Mart, from the number of parked cars it looked like the top business in the town. He could make out a school district and the distance, a small one from what he could see. Main Street was visible though it didn't look like much, neither did the town, surrounded by fields and hills, little more than a dot on a map. The only things that looked noteworthy were the surrounding mountains and the chicken plant up the road. Unfortunately, it was too dark for Jamie to see the mountains, which disappointed him. However, he could smell the chicken plant as plain as day. The smell alone overwhelmed his sense of smell, making him cover his nose.

"Okay kid, time to get out." The driver shouted in an angry tone.

"You're just going to leave me here? How the heck am I supposed to go get to Pettie Jean? I don't know the area or anyone here. Where am I going to stay?"

The trucker shrugged his shoulders, barely even looking at Jamie. "Not my problem kid. I did what I said I'd do, now you're on your own. However, I will give you some advice. There's a motel in town, I don't quite remember where but it should be easy to find. To get to Pettie Jean I'd advise asking around, these people know where it is and someone may help you."

"That's it, that's all you'll do for me?"

"Yes, now get out of my truck before I push you out."

Jamie growled to himself as he jumped out of the truck, mumbling insults at the trucker at the same time. It took all the patience Jamie had not to throw the trucker through the windshield. As much as Jamie wanted to he knew that doing so would only draw unnecessary attention, probably getting him arrested. He reluctantly thanked the trucker for at least driving him that far, only getting a grunt in return, before walking away.

Jamie shouldered his backpack and sighed as he thought to himself. After what that'd happened recently, he was starting to question everything he knew and he did. As if finding out werewolves exist wasn't enough, discovering an entire world he never knew existed, combined with every decision he made recently coming around to bite him Jamie certainly wasn't feeling too high and mighty at the moment. Falling in with that gang was what felt like his lowest moment, he made the decision to join on the sole reason to feel like he belonged somewhere. If he had known what the gang was, or what they did, he would've kept on walking. The events that followed will horrify him for life. But, following the orders of Marcus, a man he knew nothing about, seemed even dumber than falling in with the gang. For all Jamie knew Marcus could be planning to kill him or turn him into something worse than what he already was. He couldn't explain why he was following Marcus' advice, it didn't make sense why he was even considering listening to him. But yet, there he was, following directions from a man he didn't trust to a place he didn't know. Despite all the confusion Jamie felt he knew he had little options, going back to his family was something he would never consider. Wondering the country seemed like the only real option at the moment besides following Marcus' directions.

"Are you lost young man?" A femine voice behind him blurted out.

Jamie jumped at the sudden shout, and spun around only to freeze in his place when he saw who was standing behind him. Standing before him was a beautiful, Native American woman in a slim, white dress. The woman was about Jamie's height with long, black hair that flowed past her shoulders. Her blue eyes seemed to glow from the setting sun shining on them, illuminating her perfectly chiseled face. A small scar ran diagonally across her right cheek, to Jamie it looked cute. She was slim around the waist and but appeared to have large muscles for someone her size. The dress she was wearing only solidified her beauty, clinging tightly to her bosom, revealing some cleavage as if to tempt him. It clung to her body perfectly, not too tight or too loose, and the helm stopped just above her ankles. Looking at the woman made Jamie's heart race, even though she appeared to be in her late twenties, maybe lower thirties. At first Jamie was tempted to try flirting with her till he spotted a wedding ring on her finger, causing him to immediately changed his mind.

Despite being attracted to the woman Jamie couldn't help but sense something odd in the woman. He got a strange feeling about her that he couldn't shake. Though it was faint, his nose caught a scent that clearly wasn't human, werewolf, or lycan, that made him suspicious. However, Jamie didn't sense her as a threat, so, he relaxed a little but still kept his guard up.

"Uh, I think so miss. I'm new to this . . . town." Jamie said, trying not to make it obvious he was eyeing the woman's body.

"I figured you were when I saw you get out of the truck. You certainly have the look of a kid that's lost and confused."

"That's more true than you realize miss. I hate to complain to a beautiful woman I just met but I honestly have no idea what I'm doing."

The woman blushed a little at Jamie's comment. "That's often true with people your age. I was the same way once, not knowing what to do, just roaming around looking for purpose, or running from something. The problem with that is they often find themselves in deep trouble just to feel safe, they go after the easiest and usually first solution they come across. Many don't realize that it's often the hardest solution that's the correct one, which from what I'm observing from you it looks like that's the option you've chosen."

Jamie subconsciously took a step back from the woman. Somehow, having just met him, she was able to almost perfectly describe his situation. Not only that but give him advice as well. It felt like she was reading his mind, maybe she was. Whatever was going on it didn't make him feel any easier.

"How . . . How do you know that?" Jamie stuttered.

"Personal experience, observing people, watching it happen to others, magic." The woman replied, putting sarcasm on her last answer. "Take your pick, young man. But what I got to say really doesn't matter, what does is the choices you make."

"Ok, that's helpful and creepy at the same time." Jamie said, trying unsuccessfully to hide the suspicion in his voice. "I hate sound ungrateful but why are you giving me advice, we just met."

"I like helping people, but my social skills aren't that great. So, I'm sorry if I made you concerned or suspicious in any way." The woman apologized, then extending her hand to Jamie. "My name's Doli, it means "blue bird" in Navajo. It's a name given to reflect the spirit of a child."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Doli, I'm Jamie.

"Nice to meet you too young man. Now that introductions have been made let me be the first to welcome you kindly to Dardanelle, Arkansas."

Jamie looked at Doli a little confused as he shook her hand. It seemed weird that she was calling him young man when she looked only a few years older than him. However, he didn't think it was best to call her out on that, didn't seem like a gentleman thing to do; plus, Doli was clearly more than she seemed. If there's one thing Jamie's learned recently it's to not believe his eyes; his life would be completely different if he had.

"So, is there anything you can tell me about this place?" Jamie asked as he rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of something to say to the attractive woman standing before him.

"That depends, why did you come here? You moving here for work, a tourist, or just passing through?"

"Uh, well . . . I was supposed to meet someone in a State Park near here. That's the best way I can think to describe it."

Doli giggled. "It might help if you knew which one, there's two State Parks nearby, Mount Nebo and Petit Jean."

"Oh, sorry, it's Petit Jean I'm supposed to be at. Do you know the way there?"

"Of course, everyone around here does. It's only a half hour drive from here. Unfortunately, it's getting late so heading there now can wait. There's a hotel nearby you can stay at tonight."

"Really, that makes me feel much better, thanks for your help." Jamie said, shaking Doli's hand.

"It's no problem, the hotel is this way, follow me please."

Without waiting for Jamie to respond Doli spun around and began walking away in what he assumed was the direction of the hotel. At first, Jamie started following Doli only to stop for a moment once he realized what he was doing. Subconsciously, Jamie was making the same mistake he made with the gang when he became a werewolf. There he was, blindly following a woman he had just met, to some place he didn't know, that could possibly end in something worse than what he's been through. Even though his senses didn't pick up anything evil about her there was still the caution he felt to follow her. Maybe the woman wasn't evil and really wanted to help him, or maybe she was going to roast him for supper like a witch. His instincts seemed torn on the issue; confusing him even more.

"Are you coming or not?" Doli called to Jamie.

Jamie looked up from the ground and quickly realized Doli was a good distance ahead of him. He must've zoned out for a moment. Looking up at Doli, Jamie noticed something unusual about her eyes, they were a brighter blue than earlier, almost glowing. Almost instantly, Jamie felt something come overwhelm, clouding his mind.

"Uh, yes, I'm coming." Jamie blurted out immediately, as if something made his mouth say the words.

Jamie jogged up to Doli to catch up to her. Once he was behind her she started walking again, hopefully leading him to the hotel. He couldn't explain why he was following her, his actions felt unnatural, against his better judgement, yet he was still following her. It felt as if he was in a trance following her, almost dream-like. Still, Jamie didn't raise any questions as he continued to follow Doli like a little puppy.

 _Ok, sooner or later I have got to start getting some common sense, or at least some answers._

* * *

Ezekiel yawned as he gripped the steering wheel of his jeep to keep on the road. Driving along a dark, country road in the middle night combined with less than ten hours of sleep for the week was starting to effect him. Didn't help that it was his third week in a row with similar conditions, not even lycan like himself was starting to be effected by the lack of sleep. But, Ezekiel took a sip of his coffee and kept driving with no intent of slowing down.

After setting his coffee mug down, Ezekiel checked the gps to see how close he was to his destination. "Ok, I'm nearly there, just a mile and hopefully it'll be a small incident, nothing major."

He pushed down on the throttle, speeding his jeep down the road. The only thing on Ezekiel's mind was getting to the site as quickly as possible and then sleeping for the next few days. He doubted a little that it'd be a simple investigation, it rarely is simple when a large pack goes missing so suddenly. That's never a good sign and always meant more work for him. He could already guess that the pack was attacked, the main questions on Ezekiel's mind were how and by whom

As Ezekiel turned a corner his headlights illuminated a large spectacle before him. Even from nearly a quarter mile away, at night, he could see werewolves, in their human form, parading around the crash site like a bunch of idiots. The sight of them roaming around openly at a crash site was enough to make Ezekiel's blood boil

 _What are these idiots doing? Are they trying to draw attention to themselves. I've told them a hundred times to be subtle._

Ezekiel growled to himself as he stepped on the throttle. He had half a mind to rip whoever was in charge in two once he got there. In the past he's warned the werewolves several times to be more careful when investigating attacks and lycan activity. The last thing Ezekiel wanted was for the Lycans to find out what werewolves were doing, and that he existed. The way the werewolves were conducting their investigation even an idiot could figure out something was amiss.

The activity came to a sudden halt as Ezekiel stepped out of his jeep. All eyes turned to the old, experienced lycan as he eyes scanned the site. Ezekiel ignored the gazes of the frightened werewolves, he got used to their fears of him centuries ago; it no longer affected or even annoyed him. He had more important things to worry about than the fear of his subordinates.

The hooded, black trench coat wore blew wildly in the wind, exposing the desert eagle and gladius short sword he kept on his sides. The extendable spear he kept strapped on his back was almost visible as well. He was glad the hood kept his head covered so the werewolves wouldn't see his short, white hair or his green eyes. Those traits always gave Lycans away, making any werewolf that knew about them very nervous.

Ezekiel knew that the werewolves were terrified of him, mostly because he was a lycan. Even though he had proved he wasn't a threat they still feared him, many having lost fellow pack members to Lycans. He preferred it that way as none of the werewolves questioned his authority, except the occassional berzerks. However, the fear they had for him also meant they didn't trust him, something that slightly annoyed him.

"Ezekiel, we've been expecting you." A werewolf shouted as he ran up to greet him.

"If you were expecting me then why did you start the investigation before I arrived?"

"Well, uh . . . we . . . we wanted to find out what happened here as soon as possible I guess."

Ezekiel crossed his arms and glared at the werewolf. "Then why are you guys running around like a bunch of chickens with your heads cut off?"

"Well, uh, you see . . . we thought it'd . . . it seemed like a good idea at the time."

Watching the werewolf rub the back of his head and stutter to come up with an answer nearly made Ezeki crack a smile. If it wasn't a serious matter he probably wouldve laughed. Instead, due to the urgency and circumstances, he had to be serious, the last thing he needed was for the werewolves to see him as anything less than a person who doesn't take his job seriously.

Ezekiel held up his hand to stop the werewolf's rambling. "Despite what you felt about this attack you should've waited for me to show up. You're job is strictly containment and security, mine is to investigate and enforce. If you have a problem with that then take it up with Megaloth. If you don't then step aside and let me do my job."

The werewolf nodded and stepped aside to let Ezekiel past. "If you don't need our help then what do you want us to do?"

"Other than your assigned job, all I need is for you to let me do my job and only assist if I ask for it."

The werewolf nodded as he stepped back. Ezekiel returned the nod and walked past him, observing the wreckage around the site. Though he wished he had been a little nicer with the werewolf he quickly ignored the guilt, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

Ezekiel glanced around the site, taking in the major details first. Other than the crashed semi - truck and jeeps there wasn't much to look at. To the untrained eye it looked like a genuine automotive accident, but Ezekiel was no novice; he knew what had really happened. After scanning the area around him for a few moments, he proceeded towards the nearest group of werewolves who were knelt around a pile of ashes. The werewolves near him parted as he approached, he knew it was out of unjustified fear, making Ezekiel shake his head in frustration. For once in his eternal life he'd like for werewolves to not be afraid of him. He ignored them without slowing his pace, there were much more important things to deal with than their fear of him.

Ezekiel knelt down next to the pile of ashes, sticking his hand over it, feeling hardly any hear coming from it, telling him the werewolf had been killed a while ago. Though he couldn't tell what specifically killed the werewolf, due to it being a pile of ashes, he didn't need to be an expert to know that it was killed. Ezekiel had seen it countless times, bodies of werewolves left behind to rot with clear evidence of a ambush, firefight, battle, or whatever someone wanted to call it. It had only been recently when he'd started seeing piles of ashes, making it clear to him that some kind of new technology had been developed by the Lycans.

Ezekiel stood up and proceeded to the next pile, then the next, and the next, making a pattern in his mind of what happened. He felt the eyes of the werewolves following him with every step he took, knowing they had expectations for him as well as fears. With little distractions, Ezekiel made his way slowly around the site, observing every detail he could find. As he made his way around the clues began to come together, he recognized the pattern of attack fairly well, causing a disturbed smile to form on his face

"Well, well, I recognize this handiwork anywhere." Ezekiel said loud enough to get the attention of the werewolves near him.

"You do, how do you know that?" A werewolf asked.

"Simple, I've been observing their methods for over a millennia. I know how they operate from cleaning up after them for so long. These two have caused more damage against our packs than any other Lycans."

The werewolves around Ezekial started laughing till one of them spoke up. "Sir, that's impossible, two Lycans could not have possibly done this. It would take at least a whole lycan squad to take out this pack."

"Normally, I would agree with you, but these two are not your typical Lycans. They are two of the oldest and most powerful Lycans there are and have the highest werewolf kill counts in the community. I cannot stress how good they are and the amount of damage they've caused us throughout the millennias."

"If you're so certain then tell us who they are?"

Ezekiel smiled as he stood to and glared at the werewolf who cowarded under his gaze. "Marcus the White Wolf of the Black Forest and Katrina the Grey Hunter of the Amazons."


	5. Playful Confrontation

Chapter 4: Trouble and Death

"What's the matter, hun, getting tired already?" Marcus called out after he shut off his motorcycle.

Katrina turned her head and looked at Marcus from her parking spot. He looked nearly as tired as she did though he hid it well just like she did. After leaving their honeymoon in Aspen they've rode nonstop to their current location in Oklahoma. It's been a long ride for both of them.

Katrina shrugged as she put down the kickstand. "Not really, I could keep going, just have no desire to for today. There's a limit to how long a person can spend on a motorcycle in one day."

If Katrina was being truthful she was getting tired; that tends to happen when a person spends ten hours on a motorcycle, with occassional short stops to use the bathroom and grab a quick meal. Even though they both loved to ride ten hours was a bit much, it was definitely time to rest and eat.

Katrina looked around and was a little disappointed when she didn't see much beyond a rest stop, gas station, and a small motel. She didn't expect much, the place was located in the middle of a long stretch of Interstate, serving as an obvious rest stop for tired travelers wanting a place to eat or end the day.

"What are you thinking, Marcus?" Katrina called out as she pocketed her keys.

"I think we've had worse accommodations. We should avoid the restaurant, I can smell the tainted meat from here."

"I agree, lets grab something from the station and get a room for the night, we'll continue tomorrow."

"Fine by me, we need the rest anyway. I guess we're getting old."

Katrina smirked as she slapped Marcus on the shoulders. "Compared to the majority of Lycans we are the old dogs. Now, lets get something to eat, I'm starving."

"You don't need to tell me twice."

Katrina entered the rest stop with Marcus following close behind her, both of them with growling stomachs. They waved to the cashier who barely acknowledged their presence and made their way back to the food area. Neither of them were impressed much by the lack of choices they had; mostly hotdogs and chicken tenders. Both said little, wanting to get out and sleep as soon as possible.

Katrina's ears suddenly picked up on a group of approaching motorcycles in the distance. At first shr ignored it, motorcycle gangs often passed through the time, but then her nose detected an all to familiar scent. The scent combined with sound caused Katrina to stop in her tracks when she realized what was approaching.

"You hearing what I am, hun?" Marcus asked as he listened carefully before Katrina could ask it first.

"Yep, werewolves, and a small pack from the stench."

"That's what I thought, got any ideas? Wanna eliminate them?"

"Lets just stand back here for now and watch. We don't need to make a scene in such a public place." Katrina answered. "It's just a small group, they probably won't even detect us. If so we'll follow them back to their lair and take them out there."

"Sounds good to me, I'd prefer to avoid a fight right now, we're on a schedule."

"I know, hopefully they'll just drive on by, but this is the only gas station around, so not likely."

Katrina kept looking out the window from the back of the store, hoping she was wrong. She held her breath as the werewolf pack came into view only to stop by the door and get off their bikes.

Marcus leaned in close to Katrna and whispered. "So much for lying low."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, at least this way we can end it quickly. Don't engage them unless I say to."

"Don't worry, I'll wait till it's time, then rip them to shreds."

From their position at the back Katrina owner of the rest stop look up, see the gang approaching, and take off running. She watched as he ran to the back of the cashier station to a security room. He shut the door and locked it behind him, leaving his shop completely unattended.

 _So he's just going to hide and let the werewolves do whatever they want to his shop? Cowardly but smart for a human._

Katrina and Marcus remained at the back of the rest stop, watching closely as the werewolves parked their bikes in the parking lot and entered the shop. Almost immediately the werewolves went into their stereotypical method of destroying everything in sight. They watched as the werewolves knocked over shelves, broke bottles on the floor, threw things across the store, and just about cliche violent gang action Marcus and Katrina have seen in their lives and in movies. It would've been funny to them if it wasn't so destructive of some innocent person's property. They've seen werewolves behave like that before, control a small town through fear and no one stop them; frankly, they've seen scenario so much it hardly bothered them anymore.

Katrina started to think that the werewolves were ignoring them till one of them looked in her direction and an evil smile formed on his face. "Well, well, well, look at what we got here, two high and mighty Lycans all by themselves."

The lead werewolf, at least that's what Katrina guessed, stepped forward from the others. "Not just two Lycans, one very sexy bitch and a ugly mutt."

Katrina fought back a growl as the werewolves eyed her over. She knew what was running through their minds, thankfully she'd gotten used to those glares and ignored them. What upset Katrina was what the lead werewolf called her, she hated the "b" word with a passion, and was determined to make him pay for using it. What surprised her was how well Marcus was handling it, she expected him to rip the guys head off, but he was just standing there glaring angrily at them. Still, Marcus was obeying her orders, waiting for her to give him the signal.

The lead werewolf turned to the others and shouted in a menacing but sarcastic voice. "Alright boys, any suggestions for how we deal with these two? The best one gets seconds on the woman, she's mine first."

"I got a great idea, why don't you mutts leave while you still can and go back to sniffing each other's butts." Katrina shouted back as calmly as she could. "I'm assuming that's all werewolves do when they're not slaughtering people."

"Dang babe, you got fire, I like that. I'll tell you what, we'll let you two walk out of here on one condition; you have the spend the night with us. You satisfy us and I promise no harm will come to either of you." The lead werewolf proposed, getting a cheering response from the others behind him.

Katrina placed a hand on her hip, smiled devilishly, and said confidently without missing a beat. "Boy, even in your dreams you couldn't handle me, none of you would last even close to thirty seconds."

The werewolves jumped backed and the leader's jaw dropped at Katrina's response. It took everything she had to keep a straight face. Clearly, her response was not what they were expecting; most likely they thought she'd either say yes or scream no, not give an off the hip smartass response. Just watching the werewolves look at each other with confused and stunned looks on their faces was enough to make Katrina giggle.

Katrina could here Marcus smirking behind her, without turning her head she could tell he was having a hard time laughing. A normal husband would be horrified by his wife receiving such a comment; instead Katrina knew that Marcus found it hilarious because he knew what her response would always be. It wasn't the first time she'd been offered such a ridiculous proposal; men, and some women, have been trying to bed her for over two thousand years. Such proposals used to sicken her, resulting in her complete refusal and her rage being released on the person. But currently, she started taking a more subtle approach, playfully refusing to mess with the person. Seeing their reaction to her response was more enjoyable than pounding them senseless, plus, she knew the situation would still most likely end in a fight anyway.

The lead werewolf growled at Katrina's straight refusal. "Lady, have you lost your mind? We outnumber you five to one. I'm giving you the chance to live, all you got to do is satisfy each of us. Surely that is a fair trade."

"It's a simple explanation, boys. You see, there is only one man in the world who could ever satisfy me, who I've spent two thousand years married to. We know everything about each other in bed, and in every aspect of our lives, something you wouldn't understand. That man is standing to my right, and none of you could even hold a candle to him. So, you little boys see, sleeping with any of you would be a major downgrade." Katrina turned her head and looked at Marcus. "Besides, I love my husband more than anything in the world. Sure, I tease him a lot but that's only because I love him. He's the only man I have and will EVER have ANY sexual activities with. The very thought of being with anyone other than Marcus is revolting. So, I'm going to have to decline your pathetic offer."

Katrina heard Marcus smirk behind her, she figured he'd enjoy her response. She knew how much he loved to see her knock perverts down a few pegs, and she had certainly succeeded; the look on the lead werewolf's face was evidence of that. He looked like he was about to explode in rage, as did the other werewolves.

"Are you crazy woman? Do you not see that we have you outnumbered? We don't want to harm such a beautiful woman but we will."

Katrina couldn't help but laugh. "Wait, you morons seriously believe that you have us trapped?"

The lead werewolf looked around at his pack then back at Katrina. "Uh, obviously, there's ten of us and only two of you. I'd say the odds are clearly in our favor."

"Let me explain it for you simpletons then." Katrina replied, face palming her forehead and sighing in frustration. "You see there are two reasons why you should turn around and run. One, even with ten of you against us, you're clearly no match for us. Our skills and experience so vastly exceed yours that you couldn't comprehend it."

"And we faced far greater odds than you punks barely twenty four hours ago." Marcus added, getting a smile from Katrina.

The werewolves stood around looking at each other confused, clearly uncertain if they should attack or not. Katrina could see that the werewolves were getting impatient, but also second guessing the option of attacking them. Though their words had deterred the werewolves a little eventually they'd get frustrated and attack, despite knowing the odds weren't in their favor. It was clear to both Katrina and Marcus that at any moment the bloodlust would cause the werewolves to rush them.

"And two, do you boys know a big difference between Lycans and Werewolves that gives us a huge advantage?"

The werewolves looked at each other confused and dumbfounded. The look on their faces made it hard for Katrina to keep a straight face. She could tell they were confused as to why she would ask them such a strange question in a dangerous scenario.

"I didn't think so. The problem with being a werewolf is that you can only transform during a full moon, or during situations of extremely anger or feral activity. That is VERY rare and usually is something only berzerkers can do. However, us Lycans can transform any time, whenever we want." Katrina turned to Marcus and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Honey, do you want to give them a demonstration?"

A dark grin formed on Marcus' face as he nodded. "I thought you'd never ask."

Katrina took a step to her left as she saw Marcus concentrate, she knew he'd need space to transform. After a second his body started to change, Marcus started to grow significantly from his already large size, and white fur began covering his body. He made little sounds other than the occasional groan. Normally, the transformation was extremely painful, with bones popping out of place and changing shape, but Marcus has changed so much that it hardly bothered him. The werewolves stepped back in fear as Marcus grew larger with each passing instant. Within barely a moment, his change was complete, and he stood before the werewolves in his full power. He stood nearly twelve feet tall, having to kneel down so his head didn't bust through the ceiling. Katrina guessed he weighed over a thousand pounds thanks to all the muscle and thick, white as snow fur. His fur was so white it seemed to almost shine in the light, as did his green eyes. His claws were black, at least six inches long, and razor sharp, as were his fangs. Marcus looked like he could rip and pull a car to pieces with little effort. He truly was a magnificent beast to behold for Katrina, and a horrifying sight to the werewolves that seemed to be so afraid that they were unable to move.

Katrina walked up behind Marcus and patted him on the back, running her hand through his thick, white fur. "Feel free to rip them part if you want to, but try to keep the store damage to a minimum."

* * *

Jamie entered the restaurant yawning and running the sleep out of his eyes. He felt like he was in a trance, walking from the hotel to the restaurant. His confusion only increased when he couldn't remember how he got to the motel, only following the mysterious woman Doli, and woke up that morning to find a note on the nightstand telling him to meet her at the restaurant. Jamie was too tired to argue, and didn't mentally question it till he entered the restaurant. He immediately became cautious when he entered.

In a corner Jamie sees Doli waving to him. She was hard to miss being only attractive woman wearing a red sundress in the restaurant. Just seeing her made his heart beat a little faster as he made his way too her.

"Good morning Jamie, I hope you slept well last night." Doli said.

"I think so, I don't remember much beyond following you to the hotel. Apparently I was really tired, the next thing I remember was waking up this morning in a comfy hotel bed. It was the best bed I've slept in for a long time."

"That's good to hear, and it's not surprising, you were practically a walking zombie when I found you. You look hungry now, ready for breakfast?"

"Oh yes, I haven't eaten a proper meal in days, thank you."

"Good, I ordered you a large breakfast a few minutes ago."

"Thank you, Doli." Jamie replied as he sat down. "So, I have to ask, why are you bothering me to help me?"

Doli shrugged her shoulders. "You seemed lost and confused, so I figured I'd help you."

"Seriously, that's your best answer, you don't expect me to believe that do you?"

"Best answer I can think of off the top of my head without giving to much away."

Jamie looked at Doli a little confused. "What are you talking about? The more we talk the less sense you make."

"That's because I can't say too much in this setting safely. If it got out what I am it wouldn't end well for anyone here."

Jamie scratched his head trying to figure out what she meant. Doli was starting to worry him, as if the previous night didn't already. She spoke in vague sentences that both confused and infuriated him, but her last response had him on edge. It was clear to Jamie there was a lot more to Doli than being pleasing to the eye, something dark.

"Who are you, what do you want?"

Doli looked down at her meal and smiled. "I already told you my name, I have not lied to you about that. I don't think I telling you will end very well."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Because, Native Americans, especially Navajo like you, don't react too kindly when they find out what I am. They have a habit of trying to kill me." Doli replied.

Jamie looked at Doli confused for a moment, trying to figure out what she meant. Technically, he was half Navajo and there were quite a few monsters in their mythology, though Jamie never really paid much attention to them. From what little he remembered there were a couple of possibilities. Given her explanation, even though it was vague, there seemed to be one good guess, and it only worried him.

"Are you saying that you're a Skinwalker?"

Doli nodded slowly. "You're the one who said it, not me. And, just so we're clear, I'm a reformed skinwalker."

Jamie scooted back in his chair upon hearing Doli's response. He remembered quite a bit about the Skinwalkers from the legends his grandfather told him. If half of what he heard was true than Jamie should be running as fast as he could; Skinwalkers were pure evil and powerful. What confused Jamie was that Doli said reformed, it didn't ease his fear.

"What the hell is a reformed skinwalker? Jamie blurted out.

"Well, it's a long story, but basically it means that I have renounced my connections to black magic and evil. My powers have been severely dampened, though I can still shapeshift and now I heal people instead of curse them."

"That's, hard to believe. From the stories I've heard skinwalkers only curse and cause harm to anyone unfortunate enough to cross their paths. I didn't even think it was possible for one to turn good, let alone that they actually existed."

Doli smirked as she looked around the room then back at Jamie. "You should be more open minded. After everything you've seen already you should have no problem believing skinwalkers exist, you're already a werewolf."

"You know what I am?"

"Of course, skinwalkers are VERY good at finding things out that people want to stay hidden. I haven't lost all of my abilities, you saw what I was capable of last night. How do you think I got you to bed last night."

"You . . . you had something to do with that? I thought I was just tired, I don't remember anything after our conversation."

"Yes, one of the gifts from when I was a skinwalker that I retained was slight mind control. Skinwalkers are capable of controlling people by looking through their eyes, though they have to be extremely tired, drunk, stones, or very stupid for it to work." Doli explained.

"Ok, that doesn't make me feel any better. I feel . . . violated just thinking of someone in my head."

"Most do, but don't worry, I just encouraged you to go to bed, that's it."

"Ok, that makes me feel slightly better." Jamie lied as he rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, we didn't do it . . . did we?"

Doli shook her head and laughed. "No, I'm a married a woman with a loving husband, wouldn't consider it. However, if we had met when I was a skinwalker than that would be a completely different case. Would've been the best night of your life."

"Really?"

"Yes, your cute so we would've done things that you never imagined were possible. However, it also have been the last night of your life, my "victims" never lasted through the night."

Jamie's jaw dropped at the thought of Doli's explanation. He didn't know what to think about it. Looking at Doli, she was indeed a very beautiful woman; perfect skin, pretty face, gorgeous curves in the right places, truly a fine mating partner. A night with her would certainly be one he'd never forget, though from what Doli said it may not have been worth it given at some point during the mating she would've killed him. Though, looking at Doli and what she said of her expertise in that area, it might've been a good to die.

"Oh, well, that's too bad for me, at least your husband is a very lucky man." Jamie said, getting a smirk from Doli.

"You have no idea, and never will know either. Besides, we got more important things to discuss before our food gets here anyway, like your meeting with Marcus."

"Wait, you know Marcus?"

Doli smiled as she crossed her fingers. "Oh yes, I know Marcus, very well. He played a big role in correcting my course in life. I know it sounds cliché but yes, I do owe him quite a bit."

"Oh, I've only met him once and it wasn't under good circumstances."

"That doesn't surprise me, Marcus has never been subtle in anything, especially with people he just met. But he's actually a good guy once you get to know him."

"I highly doubt that." Jamie replied with a smirk. "I'm still finding it hard to believe everything that's happened to me is real."

Doli glared at Jamie. "Listen to me Jamie, there's a lot of legends and myths that you believe are just stories but are really true. There's so much you don't realize to the world and frankly, I'm not sure you can wrap your mind around it."

"Are you saying I'm stupid or something?"

"Not in any way, just saying that it's a lot for one person to take in."

"Then why not explain it to me now, save me a lot of time with Marcus?" Jamie asked.

"For starters, we're in a public restaurant, so I can't safely speak here. Marcus can explain it better than me anyway, he's lived this life longer than I have." Doli looked up as spotted the waiter coming with their food. "A better reason is because I'm hungry and don't really want to talk till I'm finished."

Before Jamie could say a word the waiter placed the food on the table and Doli began eating like she hadn't eaten in days. Jamie watched for a moment, amazed that someone so small could eat so much so fast. Eventually, Jamie's hunger won out and he started eating.

"Before I forget, I need to warn you about Marcus's wife, Katrina." Doli said between bites. "Whatever you do, do NOT stare at her body, especially her breasts. Do NOT underestimate her, she can be even scarier than Marcus, and WILL back it up."

Jamie gulped loudly upon hearing about Katrina. After seeing what Marcus could do it was hard to imagine someone scarier. Just hearing Doli speak about Marcus and Katrina made Jamie second guess his choice. But, thinking deeper he realized his choices were very limited. If he didn't obey Marcus he knew that eventually the bloodlust would set in and her become a monster, killing anyone who crossed his path. According to Doli that would lead to a lycan like Marcus coming to kill him. Maybe he could outrun whoever pursues him, but Doli made that sound doubtful. His only other option seemed to be to obey Marcus but that sounded just as dangerous.

Jamie looked down at his and pondered for a moment before looking back up at Doli. "Don't take this the wrong way, I hate to rely on you, knowing what you are, but the way I see it, you're advice would be most beneficial. What do you think I should do?"

The look on Doli's face as she looked down at the table made Jamie worried. She sat there emotionless, appearing the ponder the options and possibilities of Jamie coming out alive in all of them. Didn't appear to be any good options from her facial expressions.

After nearly a minute, Doli looked up at Jamie and answered in a confident but concerned look. "Well, given what Marcus and Katrina will do to you, and what will happen when the bloodlust sets in, the best thing you can do is go with them and do what they say."

* * *

Matchitew wiped the sweat from his brow as he walked down the streets of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Though the temperature was only in the 50s to him it might as well have been in the 90s. His body was extremely durable to just about anything, and highly adaptable, but after living in the same area of the world for thousands of years it'd take a while to get used to some place new.

 _Huh, it's much warmer here than back home, I don't like it. The cold of Quebec is much better than the warm heat in Oklahoma._

Matchitew continued walking despite the sweat pouring down his face. He knew it'd take a while to get used to the drastic temperature change. His new home would take some adjustment and the food availability was too great to pass up, he'd just have to figure out a way to get it.

Matchitew looked ahead of him to see a mother and a child walking down the sidewalk towards him. The mother was on her phone, not really paying attention to her son, just holding onto his arm. His attention was more on the woman than the kid, her meat would be far tastier. But, knowing he couldn't do anything in public Matchitew decided it'd be best to let them past. He didn't think anything of it till the child looked up at him, gasped and pointed.

"Ew mommy, look at that ugly man." The child shouted and pointed at Matchitew.

The woman looked at Matchitew and gave him a look of disgust as she grabbed her child and pulled him away. "Get away from that meth head boy, he's not safe."

Matchitew started at the woman as she pulled her child as far away from him as quickly as possible. He didn't expect such a reaction from a human and it caught him off guard, even though he didn't understand what the woman meant by meth head.

 _So even in human form I'm disgusting. That's s real confidence booster._

Matchitew looked into the window of a nearby store and nearly jumped back when he saw the monster starring back at him. Looking back was a man with paper-thin, pale skin, hollow eyes, and a mouth missing several teeth. He looked like a recently dug up corpse, and that was putting it lightly. If Matchitew wasn't so used to gore and blood he would've been disgusted by what he saw.

 _This is what a meth head looks like? Dang, no wonder these humans are scared of me._

Matchitew pulled his hoodie over his head, and slipped gloves over his hands. Once he was sure his hideous figure was hidden he continued his walk. Though the hood hid his appearance he hated how it blocked his hearing, at least the people weren't starring at him anymore. As long as no one looked too close there shouldn't be any problems for him.

Walking the streets of Tulsa, Matchitew couldn't help but feel out of place. After spending countless centuries roaming the wilderness, being in a city for the first time, surrounded by food but being unable to feast, was a new experience for him. The smells, noises, and lights were overwhelming, particularly with his heightened senses; the smell alone made him want to vomit.

But, having walking feasts all around him was the worst part. Even though he could easily rip into the small family walking towards him and feast for weeks he knew he couldn't. In the wilderness he was able to feast on anyone who wondered into his territory. However, in the city he was surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands of people, making it impossible for him to act on his hunger. Matchitew was forced to let the family walk by, causing his stomach to growl at him. If he didn't have such control over his hunger things would've gone much differently and bloodier.

"SOMEONE PLEASE, HELP ME!"

Matchitew turned his head towards the scream and found himself looking down a dark alley. Though there was hardly any light he could make out two figures, a man and a woman. From what he could see the man was assaulting the woman, either try into rape or kill her.

 _A damsel in distress scene coming from a dark alley, what is this an 80s action movie cliche?_ Matchitew thought as he starred down the alley. _At least it's private and dark, perfect place for my . . . habit._

Matchitew rushed into the alley as quick as a flash, the darkness not slowing him down in the slightest. His night vision kicked in immediately, allowing him to see the spectacle before him. In the middle of the alley was two people, a large man wearing what appeared to be fur coat attempting to strangle a strange roman in a very revealing outfit. The woman was covered in make up, more so than any woman he'd ever seen, and the outfit she was wearing exposed more skin than it covered. He'd seen women dressing like that out in the woods, usually for the purpose mating. If Matchitew's urges weren't on his stomach he'd probably be drawn to her himself. The man was a sight to be seen, dressed up in bling and colorful clothes as if he wanted to draw attention to himself. It was as if the man was flaunting himself to show he was better than everyone else. Even though it was Matchitew's first time in a city he quickly figured out what was going on.

 _So, this is the pimp and hooker thing I've heard so much about. And I thought I was despicable. Matchitew thought as he contemplated intervening. Still, no one's around, might as well "help" them._

Matchitew rushed forward with blinding speed towards the couple, just as the man had drawn a revolver and pointed it at the woman. He grabbed ahold of the man's arm with such strength that he heard the bones crunching under his grip, causing him to drop the gun. The sound of bone and meat grinding made his stomach growl. Before the pimp could scream Matchitew spun around with such force that the pimp was thrown off his feet and tossed like a ragdoll. The pimp flew across the alley into the brick wall at the end, slamming with such force that his body nearly shattered from the impact, breaking almost every bone in his body. Matchitew's cat-like eyes allowed him to see the impact in the dark and the pimp's body collapse in a bloody pile on the ground.

The woman, shaking in fear, opened her eyes to see Matchitew standing before her. At first she was clearly frightened, most likely by his appearance and the trauma and had just went through. It seemed she was trying to process what had just happened, she obviously didn't expect to still be alive. It was clear to Matchitew that she couldn't see very well in the dark, otherwise she would've screamed and taken off running from the gory sight. After a moment, the woman lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed his cheek repeatedly, leaving makeup marks with each one.

"Oh thank you sir, thank you so much. I feel like I should repay you." The woman put on a seductive smile as she let go of Matchitew's neck. "Anything you want, sir, and I mean anything."

Matchitew fought back a gasp at the woman's reply. It didn't take him long to realize what she was implying and the thought of it caught him off guard to say the least. He figured she'd just thank him, hand him a gift, and be on her not. Instead, there he was, being propositioned by what he assumed was a hooker. His current human appearance should've been enough to make her walk away. Apparently, his heroic action made her see past his horrible appearance.

"Are you sure about that little lady, you may not like what I have in mind?"

The woman tilted her head and laid a hand on Matchitew's shoulder. "Of course, I usually say no to meth heads, but for saving me, I'm willing to make a big exception. What do you say, big guy, for an hour I'll do anything you want. Twenty dollars and I'll make it all night."

Matchitew starred blankly at the woman, still in shock over her offer. If he was human he would probably agree to her offer on the spot; but he wasn't human, so the urge for sexual satisfaction was almost nonexistent. However, looking at the woman he had ideas of another urge she could satisfy easily.

"So, big guy, what's your answer? You want a night you'll never forget?"

"Ok, as you wish." Matchitew replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

His arm was a blur as he lashed out at the woman's neck and firmly gripped her by the jugular. Before the woman could respond he pulled back with a quick motion, ripping her jugular out with ease. Blood sprayed out over the woman's dress and onto Matchitew's hoodie, he just ignored it. He did it so fast that the woman didn't realize it until he held up her jugular for her to see. The woman tried to scream but only blood came out. Within seconds the blood loss set in and she collapsed on the ground next to the mugger. Matchitew just stood there watching the woman gasp and drown in her own blood, waiting patiently for her life to end so his feast could begin. Within minutes, he was rewarded for his patience when he senses her life finally fade.

 _I might have just done the world a favor by removing this hooker. I don't think the world will miss one little slut._

His stomach growled loudly as he looked at the two warm, fresh bodies lying before him. It took all the restraint he had to resist immediately digging into his meals. He quickly looked around and listened carefully for any nearby movement, he knew from experience to check his surroundings before diving into a feast. He sensed no one around to interrupt him, and it brought a big smile to his face.

 _My lucky day, not one but two meals all to myself._ Matchitew drooled, eyeing the two bodies before him with hunger.

Matchitew chose the woman first, grabbed her arm, and ripped it off with little effort. Blood sprayed everywhere but he paid no attention, his was too focused on his feast. He sank his sharp teeth into the warm flesh, ripping through the skin and muscles like nothing. The meat caused his taste buds to explode with favor, making it hard for him to savor it, but his hunger and animal/monster instincts wouldn't let him. The humans had a different, more delicious taste than his usual victims, he believed it was because of the fast food.

 _If I had known how good the hunting was and how tasty the humans in the cities were I would've started this decades ago._

Matchitew dug into his feast, devouring everything like the wild animal he was. His hands and mouth were a blur as he feasted on his two victims. He let nothing go to waste, even the bones weren't safe from his meal. Within minutes he had finished feasting on the woman, leaving nothing but a bunch of blood on the ground and her clothes. Despite having eaten a full size female Matchitew's hunger still persisted, his stomach growling for more. That was his curse, his hunger never ceased no matter how much he ate. At least he still had the mugger to feast on, and he wasn't going to let him go to waste. As he feasted on the mugger he could feel his power and size growing slightly with each swallow, adding to his already immense power.


	6. Routine and Backstabbing

Chapter 5: Routine and Backstabbing

"There they are, what's left of the pack." Marcus whispered to Katrina as they crouched in the bushes.

"Yeah, told you there was more to the pack than what we encountered at the rest stop."

"I never doubted it; a pack as bold as they were is never that small. At least tracking them down was easy."

Looking from their hiding spot they could see the werewolf camp layout clearly. Three large tents stood around the campsite set in a triangle position; each appeared to be capable of holding eight people. In the middle of the campsite was the campfire with folding chairs and tables positioned around it. To the normal person it'd look like a typical biker campsite. From their position, Marcus and Katrina counted five werewolves sitting around the campfire eating and talking. A quick sniff told them that five more were in the farthest tent sleeping.

Finding them wasn't hard, they both suspected that after the incident at the rest stop a few hours ago that there were more werewolves. They agreed to track down what was left of the pack immediately after Marcus ripped the others apart; neither of them were comfortable leaving an area knowing there were more around. Tracking them down was easy, they just had to follow the scent trail, which didn't take them an hour.

"So, Marcus, you want to go with our usual routine?"

"Sure, might as well have some fun." Marcus shrugged. "I'll distract the ones by the fire long enough for you to sneak into the tent and deal with the sleepers. Once they're done I'll deal with the others."

"No problem, can you keep them distracted for that long?"

"Easily, werewolves are easy to confuse. I got the easier job anyway."

"Well, stealth isn't your strong suit; you're more of a brute force kind of guy." Katrina joked, then planted a quick kiss on Marcus's lips. "Be safe and I'll see you in a bit."

Katrina slowly snuck away from Marcus to the tents, not even making the smallest sound. Marcus waited for Katrina to get into position then stood up and walked casually towards the camp. His steps were silent and approach so sudden that the werewolves didn't realize he was there till he had reached the group and walked past the outer two. He didn't say a word as the werewolves starred shockingly at him as he made his way past everyone and sat down on the log by the fire. The werewolves looked at Marcus and each other confused and stunned at his sudden appearance, none of them made a move for what seemed like forever.

"Hey moron, what do you think you're doing?" The nearest werewolf asked.

"Just looking for a spot to crash. Today's been a long, stressful day and I need a moment to relax. Don't worry, I won't stay long. You guys don't mind sharing some food do you, I haven't eaten all day?"

"We have food, but none for you. We don't give food to sheep."

Marcus laughed as he held his hands near the fire to watch them. "Huh, that's a new one; none of your kind has called me a sheep before."

Marcus saw the werewolves turn and whisper to each other, he could make out a little of what they were saying. What he said certainly confused them, something that wasn't hard to do. After a moment the give werewolves formed a circle around him.

"What do you mean by our kind?" The werewolf standing in front of Marcus growled.

Marcus looked up from the fire and smiled. "Oh you know, the kind of animal that drools with stupidity, wonders aimlessly for anything of value, slaughters innocent people just because they feel like it, I could go on and on but I've seen enough werewolves to know how you are."

"You know what we are?"

"Of course, I've been hunting and killing your kind since the eighth century, I can smell werewolves from miles away. It's weird though, the part of your group we ran into earlier today knew what we were immediately. Apparently, they were the smart ones, though it's been centuries since we've come across a werewolf that could be considered smart. Marcus tried to keep a straight face as the werewolves jumped back while others gasped; he could tell they were quickly putting two and two together. "Let me ask you pups something. Did you really think you could that you'd be able to keep causing problems and we wouldn't notice, eventually?"

The lead werewolf smiled at Marcus. "Of course, we've been controlling this area for decades. The people here are so terrified of us they'll never call for the authorities. The spoils have been good and we don't plan on leaving."

Marcus shook his head in frustration, he'd heard so many variations of that speech it annoyed him instead of making him laugh like it used to. He hated how cliché it sounded, like a bad line out of an action movie before the good guy slayed the moronic bad guys. But, he needed to keep their attention till Katrina was finished.

"You are right, the people are horrified of your pack, but surely you must've known that it wouldn't last forever. Eventually, we lycans were going to find you, we also do." Marcus said as he smiled at the werewolves.

"Maybe, but at the moment it doesn't matter. We outnumber you ten to one. If you attack us our friends will join in and we'll rip you to pieces."

Marcus pointed in the direction of the tent. "I don't think your friends will be assisting."

The werewolves turned and jumped at the sight of Katrina standing in front of the tent, holding her dagger dripping in blood. She looked like a psychopath standing there, thankfully Marcus knew that wasn't the case, she was just doing it to scare the pee out of the werewolves, and it was certainly working. They froze in their places out of fear, as their minds slowly worked out what had just happened that their friends were dead. The look on their gasping faces made it hard for Marcus not to laugh.

"So, now that my wife has completed her task, it's time I complete mine. Nothing personal boys, I just sleep at night knowing that werewolves are roaming around not being slaughtered."

Marcus's word resonated with the werewolves and they drew their weapons but he was quicker, drawing his sword and rushed for his nearest target. His blade instantly found its mark, removing the werewolf's head with little effort. The second werewolf didn't even have time to blink before Marcus' sword sliced across his chest. He turned on the third werewolf thrusting his sword deep into its chest.

The two remaining werewolves jumped back in horror as Marcus withdrew his sword from their friend's chest, both frozen in fear. Marcus took advantage of their fear and sprinted towards them. His sword quickly found its mark as he sliced across the closest werewolf's face, nearly slicing it in two. He used the momentum of his swing to double grip and bring a full forced swing down on the last werewolf's head. His sword buried deep into its target, cutting all the way to the base of the neck. Marcus finished by kicking the werewolf off his blade and the body collapsed on the ground next to the others.

"Is it just me or are they getting easier and dumber?" Marcus said as he wiped the blood off his sword.

"I think they're getting dumber, though that's hard to say since they've never really been too bright."

"True, at least this area is now of pests. Not exactly how I wanted to spend the night."

"No duh, it's pretty obvious how you wanted to spend the night." Katrina replied with a devious smile as she pulled a silver grenade from her pocket. "Granted that's how I wanted this night to go too."

"The night's still young; we got time for some action if we hurry back."

"I like the way you think, hun."

Katrina pulled the pin and tossed the grenade in the middle of the camp. Marcus and Katrina practically ran to their motorcycles as the silver grenade activated and began cleansing the area. Neither of them looked behind as they started their motorcycles, there was no need for them too; they knew within minutes there'd be no evidence other than an empty camp. Both had other things on their mind, though Marcus couldn't help but worry about Jamie and the ride ahead.

 _Hopefully the rest of the trip is uneventful; if we keep having complications like this Jamie will end up waiting on us._

* * *

Ezekiel sighed as he stood in the alley behind the Casino in Tulsa, endlessly pacing back and forth. He'd been waiting and pacing for so long that a small path was starting to form. Ezekiel was a patient man, but his contact was pushing it. He was told to meet at that spot around five, that was four hours ago and yet his contact was nowhere in sight.

 _Where is that moron, if he doesn't show up soon I'll handle this myself._

Ezekiel suddenly picked up on a new scent from further down the alley. The smell rotted of death to the extent he almost had to cover his nose. He turned towards the smell, unfortunately, recognizing who it belonged to.

Ezekiel crossed his arms and growled at the new figure hiding in the shadows. "You're late, where the hell were you, Matchitew?"

From out of the shadows a tall, hooded figure stepped out slowly, and slowly approached him. The figure stood well over a head taller than Ezekiel, but appeared to be little more than skin and bones. In the figures hand he noticed a severed woman arm that appeared to be recently unattached from its victim; dropping blood as the figure approached. As the figure got closer Ezekiel could make out large bite marks on the arm, telling him that Matchitew had been feasting on it.

"I had other business that demanded by attention." Matchitew replied, biting off his victim's ring finger as soon as he finished speaking.

Ezekiel looked at Matchitew with disgust, watching him chew the fingers and swallow, bones and all. In his over two thousand year long life, he'd seen nearly every gruesome act and carnage imaginable, but watching the man devour a human hand like a corndog was something else entirely. It took everything he had to keep his calm composure at the shameful and disgusting sight.

"Do you have to do that right in front of me?" Ezekiel said, glaring at Matchitew.

"Yes I do, I haven't eaten since yesterday."

"You mean you haven't eaten anything or haven't had human since yesterday?"

Matchitew shook his head and ignored Ezekiel as he turned around and walked towards the end of the alley. "The one you're looking for is in there. He's been mistreated quite a bit by the lycans, convincing him to help you shouldn't be too hard for someone as charismatic as you."

"Hm, if you know that can you tell me his name?"

"Easy, it's David, a Lycan who's grown tired of being mistreated by everyone. He's in there right now trying to drink and game away his frustration, with no success."

"How do you know all of this?"

Matchitew smiled as he gripped the severed arm tightly, cracking the bones like twigs. "It my specialty, the weak minded are easy to discover and manipulate."

"I thought your specialty was ripping the weak to pieces then eating them."

"No, turning people against each other so they rip each other part is far more satisfying than just charging in and ripping to pieces. Finding out what the moron in there is feeling is trivial compared to that."

Ezekiel shook his head as he crossed his arms. "I keep forgetting how screwed up your kind is. Why Lobos is relying on you I'll never understand."

"Because minions aren't required to know their master's motivation, only follow, their orders. But if you just know, your master needed my help and I _generous_ enough to help, I provided him with knowledge to accomplish his plan in exchange for something I require."

Ezekiel growled softly at Matchitew a being called a minion. After the two millennia's he's served Lobos faithfully as his right hand man he was far from a minion. The smirk on Marchitew's blood stained lips only made him want to strike out even more. But, Ezekiel, knowing full well what Matchitew was, knew attacking him was a horrible idea. Though Matchitew looked like a strung out meth head, Ezekiel knew he possessed far greater strength and speed than he did, or any Lycan, possibly even more than Fenrir and Lobos.

After letting out a deep breath, Ezekiel calmed down enough to speak peacefully. "Okay, you sure you have the right man?"

"Yes, you will find him at the blackjack tables, losing horrible. You should have no problem finding him."

"Obviously, lycans are easy to spot in public if you know what to look for. Getting him to join us is a different matter."

"It'll be much easier than you think. A man who's second guessing his life choices, and has a big ego, is easy to manipulate. Just feed his ego and offer him respect and he'll follow you with ease."

Ezekiel turned to face the casino, quickly contemplating the situation. As much as he hated to admit it, Matchitew's assistance had greatly changed the game, IF what he said was true. If David was indeed inside and agreed to help it'd shift the balance of power in their favor against the lycans, possibly even leading him to his long awaited targets.

Ezekiel turned around to reluctantly thank Matchitew only to find himself alone in the alley. Looking around he saw no evidence of Matchitew's presence, not even a scent. He'd vanished completely like a ghost, leaving Ezekiel to complete his task alone.

 _Wendigo's, how the hell did we get to the point where we have to rely on one of them._

X

"Oh great, lost again." David growled as the dealer slide his chips away from him.

David sipped what was left of his cocktail then slammed the glass on the table in anger, cracking it. That was the fifth time in a role he lost, and the dealer won, leading David to become a little suspicious.

"You going to keep playing or have you lost enough?" The dealer asked in a slightly demeaning manner.

David knew the dealer was talking down to him so he would get angry and keep betting, he'd seen the tactic before. Normally, David would ignore it and walk away but with this build up rage boiling inside him, and the ten cocktails he'd drunk clouding his mind, he desperately wanted to keep going.

David took a deep breath to calm his mind. "I haven't decided yet, give me a minute."

As David's hand rested on what remained of his chips, trying to decide if he should continue, his mind drifted to the other lycans, specifically Marcus and Katrina. The events of their last operation together were still fresh on his mind, and the reason he was there, trying to drink and gamble his frustration away. The last few days had been nothing to anger building up to the point where David could feel it about to burst. Even after reporting the results of the operation to the Lycan safe house his anger continued to build as the lycans there treated him like a lowly errand boy before almost literally tossing him out.

After that, David needed something to relieve the built up anger, for him nothing calmed him down than winning at a casino, getting drunk, and spending the night rocking some gorgeous waitress's world. So far he'd only succeeded in getting drunk, which was only making him angrier. He'd lost nearly half of his money and the waitresses were pretty much ignoring him, at least the cocktails the waitresses brought him were good and strong enough to get him a little drunk. However, each loss only brought back the memories of how the other lycans had spent the last eight hundred years mistreating him.

 _Those bastards, I'll show them, they'll respect me someday._

David was snapped out of his trance by the dealer slamming his hand on the table. "You going to play or sit out, little man?"

David slid the remainder of his chips forward in a huff as the dealer threw down the cards. His heart sank when the dealer turned over the cards and he saw he lost, again. He watched full of anger and regret as the dealer slid his chips away.

"Tough luck little man." The dealer said to David who only grunted.

David sighed as he contemplated leaving, without chips there was no reason good reason for him to stay at the table. Seeing the smug look of the dealer, made him want to stay, or jump up and smack it off. But, David didn't want to get banned, not with the beautiful, busty waitresses walking around. David wasn't ready to leave till he had at least one of them in his lap, though he was still sober enough to know he didn't have to chips to win and get one of them, leaving him with the unfortunate option of leaving empty handed and unsatisfied. Whatever he chose to do he needed a drink to get moving.

"Hey, waitress, another cocktail over here." David screamed to the nearest waitress.

David heard the waitress sigh as she turned around and approached him. He looked up as she came close, his eyes focused on her large bust covered by a tight top. She was certainly pleasing to the eye in the casino waitress uniform; short, mini skirt, red tank top that revealed ample cleavage, and thigh high boots. All of the waitresses were indeed a gorgeous sight, and the one in front of him was by far the most pleasing.

"Can I help you, sir?" The waitress asked in a seductive voice, David knew it was forced.

"Yes, gorgeous, another cocktail would be nice. Bring it quickly and I'll give you a big tip."

"Right away, sir."

"Don't take too long, I might give you less of a tip." David replied as the waitress turned around and started to leave.

David quickly reached and slapped and waitress's rear, who jumped and glared angrily at him. He just smiled back and continued to play as the waitress walked away rubbing her rear.

"Hm, yeah you'll do for the night." David said, getting a nod from the casino patron on his right.

"You made a good choice; Dazzle is renowned here for her cocktails, but even more for her skills in bed."

"I figured that, though how do you know?"

"Hm, pretty much everyone here does. The only problem is that she's not cheap."

"That's fine with me; I can afford her no problem. Just don't expect her to be walking tomorrow."

David's nose suddenly picked up on a Lycan scent nearby, causing him to perk up. He turned around to see a man wearing a black leather jacket with white hair and green eyes standing behind him. The man crossed his arms and glared at David, making him scoot back in his chair.

"I thought lycans were supposed to treat women better than that. Apparently, they're taking anybody these days."

David remained still as the man continued to stare at him, too stunned to respond. After a moment the man made his way around David and sat down next to him. At first, neither of them said a word, just starred at each other for what felt like forever. The man's presence certainly made David uncomfortable, finding himself starring at a man he didn't know but somehow seemed to know him. He couldn't shake the feeling that the man had something dark planned for him, the thought made David reach for the .45 pistol he had concealed in his jacket pocket, but not draw it.

"Do I know you?" David said softly. "I've been a lycan for nearly eight hundred years and you I have never seen."

"No, you wouldn't know me; neither would any of your comrades. You may call me Ezekiel."

"Ok, Ezekiel, what do you want, to criticize me to?"

Ezekiel smirks. "No, I don't need to do that, you're already in enough misery. I'm just coming to you as a friend."

"If you were my friend you'd give me some chips."

No sooner did David finish his sentence Ezekiel reached into his pocket and pulled out a large roll of chips and placed it in front of him. Just from glancing at it he guessed the chip counted represented at least a hundred thousand dollars. David's jaw dropped when Ezekiel slide the chips over to him.

"I think that should be enough." Ezekiel leaned close to David and whispered. "Keep some back and you'll be able to keep that Dazzle girl in your bed for a week."

"Ha, I like the way you think . . . friend."

David slid a quarter of the chips to the dealer showing he was in. He followed Ezekiel's advice and pulled half of the chips back, just in case; he had plans for Dazzle later he intended to make good on. David lost it pretty quickly but gained it back and then some over the next hour. That whole time Ezekiel stayed in the chair beside David, not saying a word. It wasn't till David had doubled his winnings that he called it quits, and needed answers.

"Ok, I think that may be good enough for now." David said, turning towards Ezekiel. "So, tell me, friend, why are you being so helpful to me? No one is this generous without an additional motive."

"You're not wrong; I'll say that there is a problem I need your help with."

"You . . . need my help." David laughed sarcastically for a moment. "That's a cruel joke. I don't fully know what the other lycans told you but for you to come to me for help you must be desperate."

"I'm a lot of things, desperate is not one of them. I am not part of the Lycan community, so their gossip means nothing to me."

"What, you're not part of the community?"

"It's quite simple, I know the truth about werewolves and it's why I serve a different master than you do."

David looked at Ezekiel confused. "What are you talking about? All lycans know that the werewolves are beast who kill anything in their path that were accidentally created by the long dead Lycan leader Lobos. His mistake cost the lives of thousands, if not millions of people."

Ezekiel smiled as he shook his head. "You're partially right, werewolves are certainly mindless beasts, but their history is far more complex than what you think. But, I'm not here to discuss the two species history with you."

"Then why are you here, clearly it's not for pleasure?"

"Believe it or not, I'm just here to have conversation with you, one that you might find beneficial for both of us."

An uncomfortable feeling traveled down David's back, making him even more suspicious of Ezekiel. Out of instinct, he slowly reached for the .45 colt he had concealed in his vest pocket. Ezekiel just kept looking into David's eyes, not moving a muscle. He couldn't shake the feeling that the new Lycan knew what he was doing but didn't consider him a threat, only making David more nervous.

"What do you know about me if we've never met before?" David asked.

"I know quite a bit about you David, how you are mistreated by the others, more specifically by Marcus and Katrina."

You know Marcus and Katrina?" David blurred out.

"Oh yes, we go WAY back. I also know what they did to you in Colorado, that's not right at all. You have such great potential and yet they're stifling you. I can give you what you want, respect, power, and beautiful women."

David looked down at his chips, pondering what Ezekiel said. The Lycan who recruited him eight hundred years ago spoke a similar message, excel that his promises had yet to be fulfilled. Instead of honor and glory David found himself doing the dirty work of the lycans and still was mistreated by nearly everyone. Maybe it was the alcohol but everything Ezekiel sounded great, possibly because he was promising pleasure and respect, not honor and glory. Despite all that, David still suspicious and confused about Ezekiel. He appeared out of nowhere, gave him a hundred thousand dollars' worth of chips, came out as a Lycan but served a different master, and was making him an unusual offer. On top of all that, David still didn't really know who Ezekiel was, and that concerned him. David was so deep in thought that he almost didn't notice Dazzle sitting the cocktail beside him. He quickly thanked Dazzle before turning back to Ezekiel.

David looked at Ezekiel for a moment before stuttering. "Who the hell are you?"

Ezekiel leaned forward and whispered into David's ear. "I'm just a Lycan that knows the real truth and can do something about it. I'm simply offering you a chance to help me."

To be continued.


	7. Fight for your life

Chapter 6: Fight for your life!

"You sure about this kid, Marcus?" Katrina asked as she and Marcus turned off their motorcycles in the Mather Lodge parking lot. "For all we know the kid could've gone to the werewolves and set up a trap."

"Not really, Doli would've warned us if he had. Besides, I didn't get the traitor vibe from Jamie when I saw him."

"If you say so, it wouldn't be the first time you were wrong. Remember the Apache werewolf you tried to cure two hundred years ago?"

Marcus sighed and rolled his head. "Yes, I remember, you're never going to let that go are you?"

"Probably not, but I let you off easy since you haven't been wrong since then."

"That's because I've been a lot more careful since then. I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't certain."

"It's not the first time you've said that and have been wrong. But, you're judgement has gotten better and you have me to smack you around if you screw up. I know how much you enjoy that."

Marcus nodded in agreement instead of arguing then proceeded towards the lodge with Katrina following close behind him. They slowly made their way through the slightly empty parking lot, both checking their surroundings as they walked. Marcus couldn't shake the feeling that something was off and from looking at Katrina he could tell that she felt the same. It was an instinct that he had grown to trust fully, it kept his hand near his sidearm. Though he couldn't actually sense anything he didn't relax. They kept going, however, stopping just outside the entrance to the lodge, taking a moment to observe the lodge before entering.

"How long has it been since we've visited Mather Lodge?" Katrina asked, taking in the decade's old but well-built lodge before them.

"Uh, I think it was about ten years ago, or something like that. Hard to tell these days, the years started blurring together a long time ago."

"True, felt like it wasn't that long ago we ran into the French explorer group as they were discovering this place."

"I know, we bumped into them just as Petit Jean was dying. We helped them bury her." Marcus replied, thinking for a moment. "That was the 18th century, can't remember the exact year. I remember you cried a little."

"A little bit, can you blame me, it was so sad to see her fiancé find out who she really was, that she had disguised herself as a sailor to be with him, and then have to bury her shorter afterwards."

Marcus turned his head so Katrina wouldn't see his expression, thinking of the story of Petit Jean still saddened him. Normally such stories didn't have an effect on him but since he Katrina were there to witness what happened it still teared them up from time to time. They were exploring what would now be considered Arkansas for the Lycan leaders in the 18th century when they came across a group of French explorers as they were resting and taking care of one of their crew members, a man named Petit Jean, French for Little John, who was sick. It was Katrina who made the discovery as she tended to the sick crew member that he was actually a woman in disguise. It turned out that she was the fiancée of one of the other crew members. They had gotten engaged just before he was supposed to go on an exploration journey to America, she was so worried about him that she cut her hair and disguised herself so she could go with them. Unfortunately, it was all for nothing as she had become deathly ill and there was no way to cure her. Katrina gave her herbs that dulled the pain and made her passing much easier. Marcus and Katrina stayed with explorers long enough to bury Petit Jean before moving on. They never forgot the story and apparently neither did time as the legend of Petit Jean grew, eventually becoming a modern popular myth in the area with the mountain turning into one of the most popular and first State Parks, with Marcus and Katrina being there to witness almost all of it.

"I don't blame you one bit, I was having a hard time not crying myself. Oh well, there was nothing we could and that's in the past. We got the future to worry about. . . . and a snot nosed brat to take care of."

"True, let's get this over with." Katrina responded. "After this we got a LONG journey ahead of us."

Katrina and Marcus both sighed in anticipation as they walked towards the lodge. They were both tired from the long journey and wanted to rest. Neither of them really wanted to be there but since Marcus gave his word to Jamie they weren't about to back out. Marcus led the way inside with Katrina following close behind. The lodge was relatively empty, as he figured it would be for that late in the morning, just in time for brunch. Other than the employees and a few visitors seated outside on the cliffs enjoying the view, there was no one around. For the conversation they were about to have Marcus preferred to have a few people around as possible.

"Is that him over there?" Katrina said, pointing at a young man sitting on the bench with a worried and confused look on his face.

"Yeah, that's him. I suppose we better greet him. After dealing with Doli he's probably in shock."

"More like disappointed he didn't get to mate with her. All guys, and some women, are after spending time with her."

Marcus shook his head and smirks. "I guess I'm the exception. Why would I want to spend a night with her when I can to spend eternity shaking bed with the most beautiful lycan there ever was?"

The blushing look on Katrina's face, combined with an eye roll from her, made him want to laugh. He couldn't help replying with such a cheesy comment. From the expression on Katrina's face she seemed to enjoy it, though she was trying hard not to show it.

Katrina lightly punched Marcus' arm. "Come on you big lug, let's meet with this punk already. I'll hold you to your word on that statement later."

Marcus nodded, knowing full well that night Katrina would be dominating him. He quickly pushed the thoughts of his head as there were more important matters he needed to contend with. With a little pep and hesitation in his steps he and Katrina approached Jamie who seemed to be staring blankly at the wall, as if he had a thousand mile stare. He didn't even look up at them as they stopped just in front of him.

"I got to say, Jamie, I half expected you not to show." Marcus said, causing Jamie to jump up.

"Oh, Marcus, you're here. I was starting to think you weren't going to show or kill me."

"Nah, if I was going to kill you it wouldn't be in a public place, so you're safe as far as that is concerned." Marcus joked then turned so he was slightly facing Katrina. "Before I forget, Jamie, this is why wife, Katrina."

Katrina stepped forward and extended her hand. "Jamie, it's nice to meet you."

Jamie looked at Katrina's hand for a moment before taking it. "Katrina, it's nice to meet you too."

Marcus noticed Jamie's eyes tracing over Katrina's well-formed body as he shook her hand. He didn't blame Jamie one bit, if anything he would've been surprised if Jamie didn't. Marcus just shrugged it off, as long as Jamie didn't get hands on, or spout out any inappropriate comments he was safe. He also knew that Katrina would handle it if Jamie stepped out of line, more aggressively than he would. But, he wasn't worried, Jamie looked too scared and confused to do anything, and Marcus didn't get the pervert vibe when he was around him.

"Shall we take a seat, we have a lot to discuss?" Katrina said once she let go of Jamie's hand, getting a nod from Marcus.

Marcus and Katrina made their way to the restaurant located at the back of the lodge with Jamie following close behind them where a waitress greets them before taking them to a table by the window. Other than them and the workers the restaurant was empty, giving them opportunity to talk confidently. Marcus was just happy to have a table with a view. The lodge overlooked a large valley that lead to step cliffs with a river and waterfall. From their table he could see for miles into the river valley, giving him a spectacular view. A long silence followed after the waitress took their drink orders and left to let them order, he figured it would happen seeing how confused and nervous Jamie was.

"So, I hear you had a hard time getting here." Marcus said, breaking the silence.

"Uh, how do you know about that?"

"Doli kept in contact with us, she's a good spy . . . in her own way."

"Huh, she said she was assisting you with me, I just didn't think she was actually watching me." Jamie responded.

"Oh, she's been watching you for a while, ever since I left you. Doli just waited till you were in Russellville to assist you. Don't ask me why cause we don't know, that woman does things for crazy reasons that she tells no one except her husband."

"Uh, that a little creepy, kind of feels like she's stalking me the way you talk about her."

"You're not wrong, she spent a LONG time stalking people when she was a Skinwalker, and those skills come in handy these days when she's helping us. Fortunately, she uses her powers for good now."

"Depends on how you define good." Jamie added, getting small laughs from Marcus and Katrina.

"You're not wrong there, Jamie, it's not as black and white as you think. " Katrina replied with a smile. "I'm curious, what did Doli say about us?"

"She basically said that you two could be trusted and you'll do a lot to help me. However, she also warned me against ticking you off."

Katrina smirked. "That sounds about right, Doli likes to exaggerate a little bit, but in this case she snot wrong. Don't worry, we won't harm you as long as you obey us, and keep your hands to yourself."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that, I know better than to interact with married women."

"Smart kid, I got a feeling we'll get along just fine."

"I hope so, from what Doli told me, of what you two are capable of, it'd be smart to stay on your good side." Jamie replied with a slight smile. "I got to ask, how do you know Doli?"

Marcus and Katrina looked at each other for a moment, smiling at the old memories, before he replied. "It's a long story, but basically, we were tasked with eliminating a Skinwalker in what is now New Mexico over two hundred years ago. Turned out to be Doli messing around with the local settlers and for some reason she developed a lust for me."

"That's an understatement, Marcus." Katrina smirked. "Doli was so in love with Marcus that she tried to drug him into loving her. Unfortunately for Doli she didn't realize that potions have almost no effect on us lycans, and Marcus love for me was so strong that wouldn't have worked anyway."

Jamie nearly busted out laughing. "That's one of the most cliché things I've ever heard."

"We know, but it's what happened, and it almost resulted in Doli's death. She managed to escape despite being injured." Marcus explained. "But we caught up with her a couple years later to see that she was trying to change her ways. We took sympathy on Doli and took her to someone that could help her. We didn't imagine they'd fall in love. Ever since then we've been good friends and often help each other."

"Huh, that does explain a lot, though it bugs me that she'd even want you to begin with. I just don't see why she'd be attracted to you." Jamie said with a half serious smile on his face.

Katrina laughed so hard she doubled over. "I've been asking myself the same question for centuries. I like this kid, hun."

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up you two."

Marcus sat back as Katrina and Jamie kept laughing, trying hard not to laugh himself. If he was being honest with himself it was pretty funny, but he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of seeing him laugh. It wasn't till the waiter came over for their drinks that they finally stopped laughing. Marcus took the opportunity to study Jamie as he ordered. Though he would definitely not admit it to Jamie, he was kind of impressed with him so far. The young man was handling everything better than most people they've gone through the procedure with. At least he still had a sense of humor, or trying to use it to cope with wall the confusion and fear running amok in his mind. From what Marcus saw Jamie was also braver than the others, he considered it to be either his determination to have the werewolf curse out of him or he was just curious and stupid. He was also impressed in how Jamie conducted himself in front of Katrina. Previous guys, and some girls, have flirted or harassed her when they meet. It was a nice change of pace with Jamie acting like a gentleman. Marcus was starting to suspect that he could be more than just cured, he seemed to have potential that he didn't realize.

Once the waiter was out of hearing distance Jamie spoke up. "So, I have to ask, what happens now? How are you going to cure me from the bloodlust?"

"Huh, trying to get straight to the point?" Marcus replied.

"No, I just want to know what happens if I decide to let you help me. I've been wondering around aimlessly ever since I ran away from home. Now that I've become a werewolf, and know if I develop the bloodlust I'll be hunted down and killed by you or other lycans. So, can you blame me for wanting to know what'll happen to me?"

"Correction, it's not if you develop the bloodlust, it's WHEN it happens." Katrina stated. "The bloodlust ALWAYS develops in werewolves at some point in time their lives. That's one of the big things that separates is lycans for you werewolves, we don't develop the bloodlust."

"Okay, Doli already told me to that, but still thanks. So, is it even possible to cure me and how?"

Marcus adjusted his seat before replying. "Well, technically we cannot cure you, the person that can is in Germany. So, we're going to have to take you there to him to cure you."

Marcus had to fight back a laugh seeing Jamie's jaw drop. "GERMANY, you're telling me we have to go all the way to Germany just so I can get this curse removed? That sounds like a major hassle to me? Why not have multiple individuals who can do it?"

"Because our guy is the only person in the entire world capable of removing the werewolf blood from you. He's also the only one who can create lycans but that's beside the point. That's why we have to go all the way to the Black Forest, and yes, it'll take a while to get there."

"You see, Jamie, the process to remove the werewolf blood is a hard operation, it doesn't happen often. Mostly because by time we find werewolves the bloodlust has already developed and we have to kill them. You're one of the rare cases where we catch it in time." Katrina explained.

"That's definitely not making me feel any better." Jamie stuttered.

"It's not supposed to, making you normal again is a very serious matter. That's one of the few things we do NOT joke about." Marcus replied.

"Okay, and how do I know you're not lying to me? This all sounds a little too farfetched."

Katrina glared at Jamie as she leaned forward. "And that would be different than anything else you've witnessed in the past few months how?"

Marcus shook his head with a smirk at Katrina's comment. She was right in her statement, in the past few months Jamie had been exposed to a world almost the entire world considered to be nothing more than fantasy. Marcus had seen it before with individuals struggling to accept his world, Jamie was just handling it better.

"Okay, Katrina, you got a point there. I'm just having trouble taking it all in." Jamie said.

"We know, you're not the first werewolf we've helped cure. We know what we're doing." Marcus replied.

"That does help a little, but I'd like more information if possible, like how exactly is this guy going to cure me."

"As much as I'd like to tell you it's best if you don't know till later. If you knew now you'd probably say no."

A shocked expression appears on Jamie's face. "And why is that?"

"Well, long story short, it's pretty painful." Katrina answered. "Don't worry, you'll survive, but won't remember anything that happened while you were a werewolf."

"That actually sounds like a very good." Jamie replied with a smile. "I got to ask though, what if the bloodlust kicks in while we're on our way there?"

"That's not likely, judging from what Doli told you the bloodlust shouldn't start taking effect in you any time soon. It hasn't happened to us yet on a journey and we've been doing this for centuries. The bloodlust takes a long time to actually develop in werewolves, though it varies from person to person, so we got time for you." Marcus explained. "However, if it did then, well . . . unfortunately, we'd have to kill you."

Jamie gulped loudly. "That's not exactly comforting."

"Of course not, as long as the werewolf blood is in you there really is no real option that you're going to like other than to remove it. All the other options really don't have good endings for you."

"What my husband is trying to say is that you'll really have two choices. I would say three but the third is death if you say no to the other two, and I'm certain you won't choose that so I'm not listing it as an option." Katrina added with a half serious smile though Marcus knew she was being fully serious.

Jamie lowered his head and starred down at his fist for a moment, appearing to be deep in thought, before looking up and replying. "It doesn't really sound like I have much of a choice. But out of curiosity, what are all the options?"

"Well, your first option is to come with us and be cured. The second is to take off running and hope you get away, which you won't I guarantee you. The third is the fight back but you will definitely die immediately."

"Okay, the second two options sound like the same thing."

"They're similar but the choices differentiate on your actions, running and fighting are two different things."

"Hm, that makes sense, I guess. Do I have to choose now?" Jamie replied.

"That would be your option, the sooner we leave the better. But take your time to answer, it is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make."

Jamie lowered his head again, certainly weighing his options from what Marcus assumed. He knew it was a big decision for the young man and he didn't blame him for being cautious to make a choice. Considering how young Jamie was Marcus was certain that he'd take a while to decide, despite the fact that going with them was really the only option where he was guaranteed to live. Trusting people he had very little experience with and no reason to trust, combined with everything he'd been through, Marcus knew Jamie would be very reluctant accept their option

After what felt like forever, Jamie looked up and finally said. "Alight, I'll go with you, I want to get this stuff out of me as soon as possible."

"Smart choice young man." Marcus replied with a nod.

Marcus suddenly felt Katrina's hand firmly grip his shoulder, telling him that something was amiss. He turned his head towards Katrina who used her eyes to point towards the entrance. A quick turn of his head had him looking at three darkly dressed figures wearing thick coats entering the lodge. Long, heavy coats in the middle of October, in Arkansas, were a dead giveaway to them. Even from their seats Marcus could make out bulges in their coats and a distinct smell he was too familiar with. From his extensive experience, there was only one scenario that was about to unfold.

"You thinking what I am?" Marcus asked, Katrina noticing his hand moving towards his sidearm.

Katrina nodded to Marcus confirming his suspicions. The werewolves weren't doing a good job hiding their weapons, under their heavy coats. It didn't take much for them to figure out they were a strike team waiting for a signal. They've seen it enough times know that a firefight was about to break out, and that most likely the werewolves in their sight were most likely a distraction. No doubt there were more lurking around the lodge, waiting for the right moment to strike, there always was when dealing with werewolves. They had little choice but to wait for the right moment to strike and escape. Marcus saw that the confused look on Jamie's face but chose to ignore it for the moment, it'd soon become obvious what was about to happen.

Marcus watched with his hands on his sidearm as the werewolves approached the podium leading to the restaurant. Looking around he saw that there was no one else around except them, even the waiters were not around, that eased his tension a little. The moment he and Katrina were waiting for came suddenly with the werewolves drawing their weapons and screaming at the top of their lungs.

"DEATH TO AMERICA!" One of the werewolves shouted, pulling a grenade out of his pocket.

Katrina responded before Marcus could by drawing her sidearm and firing at the werewolf, hitting him in the head, but not before he had pulled the pin. A groan didn't even escape the werewolf's lips as he collapsed and dropped the grenade at the feet of the ground. Marcus didn't hesitate to grab a stunned Jamie and sprint towards the window with Katrina following close behind them. His strength made it easy for him to drag Jamie the short distance and gather strength as he leapt towards the window, covering his face as his body made contact with the glass, shattering it. No sooner did they break through the grenade exploded, throwing heat and shrapnel everywhere, Marcus felt the heat burn the back of his neck as he fell towards the ground.

Marcus, Katrina and Jamie landed on the ground below, showered by glass and debris. He turned around once the debris stopped falling to see the lodge up in flames and a large hole from the grenade. It didn't take a rocket scientist for him to know the explosion would've killed them, but it killed the werewolves. He was glad that no one else was around when the grenade went off, making the werewolves the only deaths.

The feeling of relief didn't last for long as Marcus' ears picked up on more werewolves approaching, ALOT more. He looked at Katrina and her facial expression told him she had picked up on the same thing. It sounded to them that a large force, from the numbers an entire company of werewolves, was approaching and surrounding them. A quick look at Jamie told Marcus that he'd picked up on it too.

"What do we do now?" Jamie shouted.

Marcus looked behind them to see the cliffs and a step drop to trees. From his position he guessed the drop was at least thirty feet to the rocks below though plenty of trees stood below them. With a large force of armed, ticked off werewolves closing in on them he saw little choice.

"We jump." Marcus answers with a cynical smile, getting a gulp from Jamie.

X

Jamie woke up to a major headache to find himself lying on the dirt with the lodge cliffs right above him. _What the hell just happened?_

He tried to look around only for the pain to take over at such an intensity he had to fight back a scream. His head felt like it was spinning and holding it he discovered trickling over his hair and a large bump, causing him to scream. Trying to move brought nothing but pain and all he could hear was a loud ringing for what seemed like it lasted forever. It took what seemed like minutes for it to pass and by the time it did Marcus standing over him.

"You alright there, kid?" Marcus asked as he helped Jamie up.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good, they're still coming for us."

Jamie stood up only for the rush of pain to cause him to collapse again. Marcus pushed him back as he fell, making him land behind the log and against the roots. At first he thought that Marcus was being aggressive but it passed quickly as he knew it was pointless after seeing what he could do.

"What . . . what happened?" Jamie stuttered.

"Well, to be blunt, before the werewolves detonated their bomb I pushed you off the cliff. I managed to keep you from going splat on the rocks below but you hit your head on a tree and blacked out. Unfortunately, they had a group down here waiting for us and it's only a matter of time before they find us and try to kill us."

"What, you pushed me off a cliff?"

Marcus chuckled. "It was either that or let the blast kill you. At least this way all you got is a bump on your head, assuming we don't get overwhelmed down here."

Jamie sighed loudly as he looked down at the ground. He couldn't help but feel grateful to some extent that Marcus didn't let him get blown up, though he wished the guy had been more gentle about it. Too bad if Marcus said was true it was far from over, it'd only be a matter of time before the werewolves found and tried to kill them.

"I suppose you have a point. Do we know where they are so we can avoid . . ."

Before Jamie could finish Marcus kicked him in the gut sending him flying and landing hard against the rocks. No sooner did he land on the rocks a barrage of bullets began spraying from what seemed all around him followed by Marcus diving beside him and pressing himself tight against the rocks for cover. The amount of gunfire coming their way made it nearly impossible for Jamie to tell where it was coming from, for all he knew they could be completely surrounded. It took nearly everything Jamie had on to crawl into a fetal position and scream, what kept him from doing so was the knowledge he'd be leaving Marcus to fight against the enemy all on his own.

"Does that answer your question?" Marcus shouted as he fired his pistol at a group of werewolves, causing them to take cover.

"Very funny." Jamie responded only for a troublesome thought to enter his mind. "Just so you know, I had nothing to do with this, I swear."

"We know, Doli's been following you ever since we first met. She would've alerted us if she expected you'd betray us." Marcus shouted over the gunfire. "Besides, if you had worked with them Doli would've killed you a long time ago. Now, either stay there and try not to die or help me take them out."

Jamie opened his mouth to shout back but quickly closed it. As much as he wanted to argue with Marcus it didn't take much brain power for him to know that arguing in the middle of a firefight was an incredibly stupid idea. He had a feeling he'd get yelled at or an answer later, assuming they survived their situation. For the moment he decided it'd be best to keep quiet and stay close to Marcus.

From what Jamie could hear, without peeking his head out, it sounded like the werewolves were taking cover behind a group of rocks nearby. He could hear them shouting at each other with a lot of arguing involved. It gave him some hope that they might survive or the werewolves might get angry at each other and fight it out; he'd seen it plenty of times when he was with the gang before Marcus found him. However, it didn't last as he soon heard the arguments end, followed by the sound of them splitting into two groups to attempt to flank them. Despite all that going on, questions still plagued Jamie's mind to the point where he had to ask something.

"Why did the guy shout death to America like that? We're werewolves, not terrorists." Jamie shouted as the werewolves tried to flank them only Marcus gunned down two causing the rest to sprint to the nearest cover.

"Because it's more believable to the public and media."

"Seriously, that's the best you can come up with?"

Marcus ducked down and glared at Jamie. "Which do you think is more believable, a terrorist attack or an attack by monsters?"

"Huh, I suppose that's true."

"Obviously, no one's going to believe monsters attacked a state park. However, if they make it look like a terrorist attack, throw in some explosions and chaos, maybe murder a few bystanders, then they can cover their tracks. They've done it countless times in recent years to cover up their activities."

"You're kidding me?" Jamie shouted only to duck back when a bullet nearly grazed his cheek.

"Look kid, discussing events in the middle of an overwhelming gunfight is not how I want this firefight to go. That's stuff best saved for later. Right now, we need to keep moving or they'll pin us down and eventually take us out. So close to me and you'll stay alive. Do you understand me?"

Jamie pressed himself against the roots of the tree out of fear and in awe of Marcus. He'd heard stories from old veterans when he was a kid about soldiers who stayed cool and calculated in some of the worse hell war could produce. Being in the middle of one for the first time he found it impossible to believe. So much fear and confusion was running through Jamie's mind that he could hardly think. However, looking at Marcus at that moment he not only saw that it was true but that he seemed to be in his natural element. He saw not even an ounce of fear in the Lycan's eyes as he would occasionally pop out of cover to fire a shot with his pistol, dropping a werewolf almost every time. Being there with him, for some strange reason that Jamie couldn't understand, filled with him courage and determination.

 _So, this is what the old veterans at the reservations talked about. A man that inspires those around him to fight and win . . . .a true warrior._ Jamie thought as a smile crossed his face.

Jamie nodded at Marcus, feeling his fear diminish being in his presence. "I understand sir."

"Good, and call me Marcus."

"Okay sir . . . I mean Marcus."

Out of the corner of his eye Jamie saw two more werewolves fast approaching from a bank on the left. Looking quickly at Marcus, seeing that he was busy focused on the werewolves approaching from the front, realized he had little option. By the time Marcus would see them approaching they'd be set and ready to fire. Seeing little other choice, Jamie lunged at Marcus and pulled the revolver from his belt. Marcus seemed to put up little resistance as he withdrew the revolver, he appeared to notice by giving him a quick glance before looking back at the werewolves in front of him. Jamie cocked the hammer back and aimed the closest werewolf, putting the sight center mass, and pulled the trigger. The recoil from the revolver was more than expected as it nearly threw him back causing him to temporarily lose his footing. However, his aim was true as he saw the werewolf fly backwards into the water. Taking no time to ponder on taking a life, he quickly aimed at the second werewolf, braced himself, and fired again, hitting him in the stomach. The werewolf screamed, dropped his weapon, and collapsed into the water behind a rock, blocking Jamie's view of him.

"Nice shots, you may just have a talent for this." Marcus said as he reloaded.

"Uh . . . thanks, I guess. I grew up on a reservation where my uncle taught me how to shoot."

"That's definitely paying off today."

Jamie opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out, he couldn't find the words to say and even if he could nothing coherent would've come out. His mind wouldn't drift away from the image of him gunning down those two werewolves. They were the first lives he had taken, first sentient lives since on the reservation he did quite a lot of hunting, and yet he did it so naturally without thinking. He didn't know if he should be horrified or just let the moment pass. All he could do was grip the revolver, despite all the bullets that were flying around him.

"Don't think about the life you just took, focus on the fight at hand." Marcus shouted after ducking behind cover from shooting at two werewolves. "It'll take your attention from the fight, slowing you down or distracting you, costing your life. There'll will be plenty of time to think about it later."

Jamie looked up at Marcus to see him with a slight smile that disappeared quickly back to seriousness. It caught him off guard to see the lycan give him such advice, though it could come across as an order, in the middle of a gunfight. Having no recollection of anyone giving him advice or confidence like that it made Jamie feel a bit uneasy and confident at the same time. Though being in their situation he was aware there was little time for such thoughts.

"Uh, thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome." Marcus shouted back as he reload his pistol. "Now, focus on the three idiots coming from your front."

Jamie quickly looked over rock he was taking cover behind to see three werewolves fast approaching just like Marcus said. He rose up and fired at them but his aim wasn't the best and they ducked behind cover only injuring one of them before they made it to cover behind a group of trees. Growling at himself for missing he aimed again at one that was sticking his head out of cover, pulled the trigger, but all he got was a click. He tried again only to get the same result and nearly threw the revolver. It was as the werewolf ducked back into cove that he realized he had fired all the rounds and wanted to kick himself for his stupidity. It was then he felt a pat on his back and he turned around to see Marcus holding out multiple speed reloaders to him.

"Here, take these, you'll need it, and count the rounds as you fire."

"Thanks." Jamie said as he grabbed the speed reloaders out of Marcus's hand.

Looking around Jamie realized just how outnumbered they truly were, even without the main force on them yet. Already he could see the enemy surrounding them on multiple sides. It only took him a moment to realize that if they didn't do something soon the werewolves would easily have them surrounded and it'd only be a matter of time before they were dead. As much as he wanted to panic Jamie instead took several deep breathes to calm down and think clearly, and hoped that Marcus had a plan.

"Alright Jamie, we're going to do a bounding movement to that group of rocks behind us before they reach us." Marcus shouted, getting Jamie's attention along with a confuse expression.

"Uh, excuse me, this is my first time in a gunfight, I got no idea what you're talking about."

"Sarcasm is hardly appropriate in a life or death situation young man, though it's my fault for forgetting that. I'll keep is as simple and quick as possible."

"Since we're nearly surrounded by people who want to kill us that seems like a good idea." Jamie replied with a half sarcastic smirk.

"Very funny, now, do you see that fallen tree behind us?"

Jamie turned his head as Marcus pointed behind him to see a large tree lying in the middle of the riverbed nearly a hundred feet behind him. "Yeah, I see it."

"What's going to happen is I'm going to provide cover fire, keeping them from shooting at you and as soon as I give you the order, I want you to sprint as fast as you can for that tree."

"Wait, you want me to expose myself while you're safely behind cover?"

"No, I'll keep them pinned down and draw their attention on me so you can make it safely." Marcus explained. "Once you're in cover I want you to provide cover fire for me so I can make the run. You don't have to fire accurately with the intent to kill, just fire close enough at them that they stay behind cover till I make it. Do you understand?"

"I sure hope so."

"That doesn't help my confidence but it's not like we have a choice. Get into position and don't take off till I tell you too."

Jamie nodded and reluctantly positioned himself against the cover as Marcus leaned against the rock and took a deep breath. Fear flooded Jamie's mind nearly freezing his body on the body and made it difficult to breathe. The fear was so intense that he was shaking almost violently. With all the fear compressing against his mind he didn't know if he would be able to follow Marcus' order when it came. The only thing Jamie was able to do as he heard Marcus stand up and begin firing was breath slowly to try to relieve the anxiety and fear clouding his mind.

"GO NOW!" Marcus shouted and something in Jamie snapped.

Suddenly, Jamie found himself running as if his body was reacting without his mind. He didn't know how but his body seemed to be reacting on its own, as if his own instincts were keeping him alive and making him move and react. Everything around him moved so fast that he hardly noticed any of the obstacles in his path as he ran, even the sound of gunfire was hardly noticeable. To Jamie, it all felt like it he covered the distance in an instant and he found himself jumping over the fallen tree and taking cover. It wasn't till then that he was able to catch his breath as he leaned against the trunk.

 _Oh right, Marcus is waiting on me._ Jamie thought.

Jamie stood up and spotted the werewolves once again trying to surround Marcus from his position. He aimed at the closest one and fired, though the distance was considerable his shot hit a tree barely a foot away from the werewolf, causing it to jump and take immediate cover. The others near him did the same as Jamie fired a second shot resulting in the others ducking to anything they could use to shield themselves.

"MARCUS, RUN!" Jamie screamed at the top of his lungs.

Marcus reacted so fast that Jamie could hardly see him jump up and begin running towards him. He hardly paid attention to Marcus, trying to focus on the werewolves taking cover, firing near their cover to keep them there. His shots were rapid though accurate enough that he noticed they remained in cover as Marcus made his way to cover. As Marcus cleared the log and took cover behind him Jamie fired his last shot.

Marcus grabbed Jamie and roughly yanked him down and behind it to safely. "Don't get carried away, unlike your video games I don't have infinite ammo and in real life you don't pick it off the ground."

Jamie let out a loud grumble so Marcus would hear him but saw him too focused on the werewolves charging their front, gunning down two of them. As much as he wanted to complain at Marcus he knew that would be a bad idea, not just because of the fact they were being shot at but he believed that Marcus would probably kick his butt. Instead, Jamie pushed those thoughts out of his mind and focused on the enemy pursing them. Peeking over the rocks, he saw what to him appeared to be a small army approaching them in the distance making his jaw drop out of fear. Thankfully, most of them seemed to be a good distance away trying to navigate the different terrain the riverbed and trail presented them, without a rifle there wasn't anything Jamie could do about those. However, there was still plenty within the danger zone, sprinting from cover to cover over the rocks, quite a few falling and getting hurt. Marcus was doing his best to keep them behind cover and from flanking their position though with their numbers eventually they'd be overwhelmed, but most likely he'd run out of bullets first.

"Not to sound unappreciative but do we actually have a plan or are we just fighting them off till either we kill them all or they kill us?" Jamie shouted over the gunfire.

"At the moment, all we can do is keep moving. Their numbers and our location do not favor us. Being in the middle of a river bed, if you can call it that, with cliffs and steep terrain on both sides, gives them the advantage. They can flank us from either side so it's best if we stay ahead of them till we reach a cover position that's defendable. It doesn't help that this ambush is very weird."

"Weird . . . .how so?" Jamie asked, quickly peeking out from the rocks to see where his enemy was.

"To put it in quick, simple terms, I haven't seen werewolves attack, let alone gather, in numbers like this since the Crusades. They rarely ever live in packs larger than twenty, tensions and animal rivalry instincts makes groups that big uncommon to say the least." Marcus explained after taking a quick peek from his cover.

"I got a feeling there's more to it than that."

"It is." Marcus shouted, popping out of cover quickly and firing at a werewolf that popped his head out for too long. "It means there's either a large alpha in the group that's got all them together or there's someone or something controlling them. Either way, it's not good for us."

"Doesn't sound like either one is good for us and that we're going to have to fight our asses off either way."

"You're not wrong, survival is the name of the game right now. We'll face whatever it is that's controlling them when we cross it."

"That's not helping my fears." Jamie said as he stood up to peek at enemy positions only to stop when a thought entered his mind. "Wait a second . . . since the Crusades? How old are you?"

"Strange question to ask in the middle of a gunfight. Oh well, by modern standards I'm over twenty-one-thousand-years-old. Katrina is even older than I am. Now, please, focus on surviving these idiots. We'll be attempting another cover move soon. This time I'll go first."

Jamie opened his mouth to reply but quickly shut up when he realized Marcus wouldn't answer him at the moment. Instead, he took position, facing the direction the werewolves were coming from as Marcus readied himself to sprint. As soon as he was ready he raised himself out of cover and fired a few shots at the werewolves causing them to take cover.

"Go Marcus." Jamie shouted and he was able to see Marcus dart out of cover so fast that he appeared to a blur.

Jamie emptied the revolver towards the werewolves' cover, keeping them pinned down as Marcus ran. Before he could lower back down into cover he heard Marcus shouting at him that had made it. He looked behind him as he reloaded to see Marcus waking at him from behind a group of rocks over a hundred feet away. Reloading as quickly as possible he readied himself to sprint and finished just as Marcus ordered him to run. Almost as if by instinct, Jamie took off running as quickly as he could while Marcus fired at the werewolves. The sprint felt like a blur to him as he cleared rocks and logs in his path to make it to Marcus. Within seconds he found himself jumping effortlessly over the rocks and landing beside Marcus and ducked behind cover as soon as he made it and reloaded his pistol.

"You're getting better at this." Marcus said as he quickly raised up and fired at a werewolf, hitting him in the chest.

"Thanks, I guess."

It suddenly crossed Jamie's mind that the reason Marcus sounded so knowledgeable, more so than anyone he'd ever met, was because he had more experience than even Navy SEALs and SAS operators. His age explained quite a bit and opened up questions Jamie had but didn't know how to ask, and knew that moment wasn't the right time. Despite everything that had happened and was happening, he couldn't help but slightly respect Marcus. The lycan was doing everything in his power to keep them both alive, and with Jamie having never been in a firefight before he was amazed the guy was doing such a good job, at the moment. It was then that he realized that Katrina wasn't around, he hadn't seen her since Marcus threw him off the cliff. For all he knew she could be dead, though if she was half as tough as Marcus, and Jamie had a feeling she was at least as good as him, she was alive and causing chaos for the werewolves.

"Where is your wife, did she just leave us?" Jamie shouted as he reloaded.

Marcus gave Jamie a quick laugh before replying. "She's somewhere around here, working her magic. She'll turn up eventually."

X

"Where are those two lunkheads?" Katrina mumbled to herself as she hid behind a tree.

Katrina sighed as she leaned against the tree, angry with herself for being separated from Marcus and Jamie so easily. Seconds before the werewolves detonated their bomb she followed Marcus out of the window and tried to stay with him as he dragged Jamie over the cliff. However, her jump took her on a different path, causing her to fall much farther down the trail than they did. Hitting her head on a tree didn't help as it nearly knocked her out. Once she gathered her bearing she began trying to track them down, that is, until she saw the woods crawling with heavily armed werewolves. To avoid detection she'd be sneaking around carefully, quietly taking out any stragglers, with no success of finding Marcus or Jamie.

 _Why do I have a feeling Marcus is up to his shoulders in crap creek?_ Katrina thought as she continued to sneak through the woods.

Suddenly, Katrina heard the sound of people approaching followed closely by an all too familiar werewolf stench. She quickly took cover behind a tree just as two werewolves came into view.

 _Ah, two more idiots to deal with._ Katrina thought as she watched the werewolves stop and look around.

Katrina slowly approached from behind as the two werewolves stood in their place, completely unaware of her presence. As she approached she drew her blade and readied herself to strike. With a quick lunge, she launched herself towards the werewolves with such speed that if anyone did see her they'd only see a blur. She raised her blade as she closed in on her first target and brought it down on the back of his neck, successfully severing his spinal column from his brain, killing him instantly. Using the momentum she carried herself towards the second target just as he was turning around. It was too late for him as Katrina's blade pierced his chest into his heart before he seemed to realize what was happening. She withdrew the blade quickly and the two werewolves collapsed on the ground at the same time.

 _Two down and an army to go._ Katrina thought with a sigh.

Just as Katrina wiped the blood off her blade she heard gunfire picking up in the distance. No sooner did it happen she heard what sounded like a large group approaching. Katrina took cover behind a rock and silently watched as a group of werewolves make their way towards the gunfire, running past her without detecting her presence. She didn't need much to know that the gunfire was mostly likely Marcus putting up a fight and that group was trying to flank him.

 _I need to get there before they do, or at the very least slow them down._ Katrina thought as she watched the group.

Looking up the slopes, Katrina saw a large boulder resting in a suspiciously awkward position. Even though she was a good distance away she could see the boulder ready to fall, with the right persuasion, right on top of the werewolves. Katrina picked up a rock and threw it at the boulder above the werewolves. The rock hit the boulder at the right angle, knocking it loose. Almost immediately the boulder began to slide till it was off balance and fell from its position, down on the werewolves who saw it just as it was about to crush them. Most managed to jump out of the way to avoid being crushed but several were not lucky as the boulder landed on top of them, fatally crushing them.

 _That should slow those idiots down, at least make them hesitant to follow._ Katrina thought as she took off running towards the gunfire through the trees.

After running for a few moments, Katrina came to an opening where she could barely see what looked like Marcus through the bushes. From her position she could see Marcus and Jamie putting up a brave but overwhelmed fight as the werewolves tried to surround them. She immediately took off towards them through the trees as fast as she could towards them, ignoring the gunfire coming towards her. Thankfully the trees provided substantial cover and the werewolves firing at her were poor shots. Within a moment she had cleared the trees and made it to the riverbed just as she saw a werewolf circle around Marcus and Jamie's position that they didn't seem to notice. She increased her speed just as the werewolf was about to open fire at Marcus and readied herself to lunge at him.

"Hey honey, you missed one." Katrina shouted as she leapt in the direction of the werewolf over the rocks.

Katrina drew her blade while still in the air and used her downward momentum to bring it down on the werewolf's head. The blade split his skull open as she landed on him. She quickly rolled, pulling the blade out at the same time, and jumped into cover beside Marcus and give him a cocky smile. He smiled back, shaking his head sarcastically at her as he reloaded.

"Speaking of the angel." Marcus said to Jamie.

"Aw, that's so sweet, though I think you may be exaggerating. Besides, now is hardly the time you should be complimenting your wife." Katrina replied with a chuckle.

Marcus turned his head and looked out over the rocks at the werewolves surrounding them. "I agree, it's only a matter of time till they reach us. I'll cover you two as you make a run to the nearest cover."

"Will do, just don't take too long hun." Katrina replied.

Katrina grabbed Jamie and pulled him to a ready position. As soon as they were ready Marcus rose up and began opening fire. Katrina heard a werewolf scream from a bullet wound but ignored it as she waited for her husband's signal.

"GO NOW!" Marcus shouted.

Katrina sprinted over the rock as soon as Marcus shouted, clearing the rock and covering the distance in a flash. Glancing behind her briefly she saw Jamie somehow close behind her. It surprised her to see him keeping up though she attributed it mostly to an adrenaline rush he was most likely feeling. Within moments they made it to a nearby rock group and jumped over to cover, with Katrina rolling to recover and provide support for Marcus. She quickly aimed her pistol and began firing at any werewolf in sight, causing most to jump back behind cover.

"Hurry your butt hun." Katrina screamed at the top of her lungs.

Marcus jumped over the rock and ran towards them as Katrina fired at the werewolves. She aimed as accurately as she could at that distance with her pistol, enough to keep them in cover as Marcus sprinted towards them. He easily cleared the rocks to take cover beside Katrina who ducked to reload.

"I got a feeling this is going to be a long, repeated process." Katrina said as she reloaded.

Katrina, Marcus, and Jamie repeated the process over and over again, making their way slowly down the river. Each time they switched turns, keeping the werewolves at bay long enough to make it to the next cover. Though nearly as soon as they did the werewolves would quickly have them surrounded again, causing them to keep going further down the river. After what seemed like forever they finally came to the end of the river, finding themselves at the base of the waterfall with no further escape options.

"Uh, guys, I don't think we can go any further." Jamie shouted.

"That's pretty obvious unless you can climb waterfalls under heavy enemy fire . . . or fly." Marcus sarcastically replied, getting a playful arm punch from Katrina.

"Not really much we can do other than stay put." Katrina shouted as they took cover behind a group of rocks. "I guess we hold them off here, at least we got the waterfall behind us, which should give us some protection." Katrina said.  
"And with the narrow entrance we can narrow them down into a kill zone. If we do go down today at least we'll be taking as many of them with us as . . ." Marcus began replying only to pause before he could finish.

Katrina suddenly heard a gasp followed by an animalistic growl come from Marcus. She turned her head and looked in the direction he was only to gasp as well when she saw what he was. It the distance, behind the main werewolf group, appearing to lead them, stood an individual who she immediately recognized. A shiver roll down her spine seeing the white haired, darkly dressed man give orders to the werewolves as if they were his minions.

"Marcus, is that who I think it is?" Katrina asked, holding Marcus's arm to keep him from doing something stupid.

"Yes, I recognize that snake anywhere. How in the hell in his alive?"

"I don't know, I saw you kill him with my own eyes. He should be nothing but bones right now."

"Who is he?" Jamie asked, getting Katrina and Marcus' attention.

"A monster that did a great wrong against me a long time ago and should be dead." Marcus growled, standing up looking full of rage to Katrina.

"Marcus, we can't worry about him now. We got other concerns right now, like getting out of here alive." Katrina said, appearing to snap Marcus out of his anger trance.

Marcus sighed loudly. "You're right, we can worry about that monster later. Getting away from these idiots before they surround us takes priority."

Katrina nodded then peeked out from the rocks to access the situation, what she saw did not get her hopes up. From their front she spotted more than two dozen werewolves, from her count, taking cover at the edge of the tree line and around the rocks at the edge of the pond. She could see even more breaking off from the main group, making their way around the edges to flank them on both sides and cut off their escape. Behind them Katrina could see Ezekiel giving orders but at his distance and the werewolves and trees in her way, she had no shot at him. With the waterfall at their back they only one direction of escape and the werewolves were quickly blocking it off.

"If only we had reinforcements, even two of three would help provide a distraction long enough for us to escape." Katrina said as she ducked behind the rocks.

A strange smile suddenly formed on Marcus's face as he pointed up to the cliffs above them. "Speaking of reinforcements, it looks like the Calvary has just arrived."

Katrina looked up to where Marcus was pointing to see a long figure standing on top of the waterfall, looking down at them. The person was dressed in a sleeveless, black trench coat, and from what Katrina could see, black pants, shirt, and boots. Squinting her eyes she could tell that the person was a man, appearing to be in his mid-forties, and his skin was almost as black as night. Though there was considerable distance she couple swear that there was black objects attached to him that appeared to be wings, but she wasn't certain. He carried no weapon but even from the distance she was at Katrina could tell that he was an imposing figure, particularly when she recognized him after looking up for a few seconds and she saw why Marcus was smiling.

"Who, what is that?" Jamie asked.

Katrina smiled at Jamie. "Zander, a good and powerful friend of ours."

"Really, so he's on our side?"

"Oh yes, with him this fight might as well be over."

"How, he's just one man?" Jamie shouted as bullets passed over their cover. "Unless he's insanely powerful, one man is not going to be much help against an army like this.

Zander suddenly jumped off the cliff and fell freely towards the bottom. At the height of his jump he seemed to freeze in the air as if he was flying above the waterfall. In his right hand Katrina saw what appeared to be a small ball of fire begin to form. Over the course of a few seconds the fireball grew to the point where she guessed it was easily the size of a small truck. Even from her location at the bottom of the waterfall she could feel the heat coming from it. Zander raised his right hand holding the fireball above his head as if he was holding a torch, making Katrina gasp when she realized what was coming next.

"OH HELL, TAKE COVER!" Katrina screamed at the top of her lungs.

Katrina and Marcus ducked behind their rocky cover as Zander plummeted down towards the werewolves, his fireball first in his hand, like a hawk diving for its prey. They barely got into cover before the fireball and Zander crashed into the ground with tremendous force. The fire ball exploded with more force than a 105mm artillery shell, shaking the ground nearly causing Katrina and Marcus to lose their footing. Fire shot out in all directions, burning everything in sight to ashes that it touched. If it wasn't for their cover and the distance from the explosion they would've been set ablaze at the very least.

Katrina suddenly noticed a rock fly through the air straight towards Jamie. She reached out to grab and pull him behind cover but it was too late. The rock hit Jamie in the forehead, causing him to collapse to the ground unconscious. She and Marcus caught Jamie before he hit the ground and laid him down gently. They remained in their position behind the rocks for several moments as rocks, dirt, and ashes rained down all around them. Neither of them moved from cover just to be safe, waiting for the debris to settle down.

"Damn, I forgot how powerful Zander's attacks were." Katrina said.

"So have I, it's been a while since we've seen him fight, or he's had need to fight."

"One of the benefits of being as powerful as he is."

Katrina and Marcus slowly stood up and looked around at the scorched area, both impressed and slightly shocked by what they saw. Zander's fir blast had completely burned away everything but the rocks, even the water had evaporated. On the bank were dozens of burnt bodies of the werewolves, all lying in what seemed to be painful positions. In the distance several of the trees were on fire though they didn't seem to be burning that badly. The scene reminded Katrina of the jungles of Vietnam after a combination of napalm bombing and artillery strikes. The only thing still standing was Zander who stood in the middle of the currently empty bomb brushing ashes off his shoulder like it was nothing. If there were any werewolves left they would've ran after Zander's attack, not even Ezekiel was still around. Katrina and Marcus, knowing it was clear, exited their cover and walked towards Zander.

"Zander, it's been a long time." Katrina said as she approached and hugged him.

"Been too long, Katrina." Zander said as he hugged her back the turned to Marcus. "You look pissed my friend."

"Might as well add in confused to that as well." Marcus replied as he shook Zander's hand. "Someone who I was certain died thousands of years ago is so, show still alive."

"Ah, that old trope. Who was it?"

"Ezekiel."

Zander seemed to freeze on the spot as a shocked expression appeared on his face. "Oh, I can see why, I'm very sorry to hear that. This complicates things quite a bit. But, right now, that shouldn't be our main concern, getting out of here before reinforcements of police arrive should be."

"Agreed." Marcus replied.

"Definitely agree." Katrina added.

"Good, glad that we're in agreement." Zander said than made his way over to Jamie. "So, is this the kid my wife was telling me about?"

Katrina nodded. "Yes, this is Jamie."

"Hm, he's younger than I thought he'd be, practically a child."

"Just about all mortals are children compared to us." Marcus responded with a smirk.

"Very funny, Marcus." Zander replied, the kneeled down over Jamie, examining his head injury. "He's fine, just got his bells rung. My wife can fix him up back at the den. We can talk this later once you two have rested and thought this is."

"Of course, can't clear all this up on an empty stomach, we didn't get to eat before they attacked." Katrina said.

"Then I'd say a rest and meal is well deserved. I'll get limpy here and we'll head out."

Zander grabbed Jamie and effortlessly lifted him onto his shoulders. He turned around and started jogging off in the direction away from the waterfall with Marcus and Katrina close behind him. As they jogged, Katrina occasionally glanced at Marcus, seeing the angry confused scowl on his face. Each time she saw it her heart sank deeper, she could only imagine what was going through his mind. She could smell the hatred running through him and it took everything she had not to shiver. As much as she wanted to comfort him Katrina knew it wasn't the time, not with there possibly being more werewolves around and no doubt the local law enforcement showing up eventually.

 _This is just the beginning of the hell storm, I can feel it._ Katrina thought as she walked beside Marcus, hoping she could comfort him.

To be continued.


End file.
